Ghosts of the Ark
by SweetSouthernSass
Summary: If you asked anyone on the Ark, they didn't exist. Kept in secret their entire lives, raised in the stark whiteness of a hidden lab, they have never been a part of society. Now, thrown in with The 100 and sent to the ground, can they learn to survive again and find a place among their peers? And what will Red do about a certain dark-eyed leader whose eyes are always on her?
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** I know, I know...a new story?! I just couldn't help it! I haven't been able to write in forever and I stumbled across the show and BAM! New story, ideas flowing, unable to stop writing! (If you're a follower of my others, be patient! Updates will be here soon!)

**Pairing:** Bellamy/OC  
>*Unsure of other side pairings, but I'm sure there will be both canon and OC<p>

**Rating:** Fiction M- for language, adult themes/situations, fighting, etc.

_***Warning!:**_ This is an OC/AU piece of Fiction! It explores some of the Ark's less than moral dealings with children of floated/deceased parents! So be ready for that! There will also be absolutely no Bellarke, anywhere. While I like Clarke, I just don't see them together, and sometimes I honestly can't stand her one-sightedness and attitude...just my opinion! That being said, there could definitely be some Clarke bashing but not overwhelmingly.

Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

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><p><em><strong>Prologue<br>**"It's not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.  
>It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."<strong><br>**_

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><p>As he stood, his spine ramrod straight and chin tilted upward, he watched every move that was made. More than once he snapped at the guards handling his charges to be careful, even though he knew it would take more than a little jostle here and there to hurt them. The dropship was empty, but it wouldn't be for long, and he'd commissioned the ability to secure them inside first.<p>

Equal parts sadness and relief warred with his emotions.

Part of him was grieved to watch them go.

He had overseen their development practically all their lives and despite his detached and cool mannerisms, a small piece of him had become attached, rather it was his heart or simply knowing they were there to provide for and look after, he did not know. He had watched them grow, change, and progress into what they were now. He had witnessed their triumphs and seen their failures, even if it was only from the shadows or behind the disguise of reflective glass.

But a part of him, darker and kept hidden, was relieved.

A secret fear had bloomed as he watched from afar, and he couldn't help but relish the distance that would be forcefully put between them, making it a little easier to breathe, to relax. They were older now, more refined and nearly unstoppable, especially together. He possessed very little doubt at all that they would make it down on the ground, by whatever means necessary.

After all, he had a hand in their creation.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's Note:** First full chapter! I hope anyone who is interested is enjoying! Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter One<strong>_

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><p>"<em>Red! Red, listen to me!"<em>

Dull pounding in my head made it hard to open my eyes, let alone move my body or look up. The steady thump of my heartbeat sounded in my ears, loud enough that it was all I could hear, all that I could really distinguish. Weight settled across my chest, holding me down and anchoring me in place despite the weak attempts I made to stretch my muscles.

_Warm hands grasping at my upper arms…eyes wide in shock and throat raw from screaming after being_ _separated…something cool and heavy being shoved into my hands…_

"_C'mon Red! Snap out of it, you have to listen to what I'm telling you!"_

A groan left my lips and my lashes fluttered over my cheeks, consciousness slowly returning even through the waves of memory. My nose twitched and wrinkled, sensitive to the overwhelming scent that was beginning to register. Heavy, acrid, stifling…it burned now instead of simply tickling my senses and I wanted nothing more than to be far, far away from it. Unlike the fresher smell brought on by exercise or the denser musk of hard labor, both of which could be pleasing, this was entirely different.

Sweat.

Sweat born of fear.

"_They TOOK him! Why are they taking-"_

_A gentle smack against my cheek to shut me up…a rumbling chuckle to bring me out of my shock…strong hands holding my shoulders in place…_

"_He's fine Red, he's going to be fine, and you'll be joining him soon. They're coming for you next."_

The bitter scent was distracting, but I could still hear. The blood pounding through my veins had quieted and I heard more than the steady thrum of it now. The constant mechanical buzzing of the Ark had increased, much louder and more obvious than what could typically be heard within the station, keeping it running and its people alive. The hissing of regulating air pressure, the heavy clomping of boots on metal, and the quickened chatter of multiple people overrode the pounding in my head, easing the heaviness of my eyelids as I tried to open my eyes yet again.

People…

My eyes snapped open then on instinct, adrenaline flooding my body as I tensed and the lighting blinded me momentarily. I blinked the bleariness of a drug induced haze away that had kept me unconscious for what must have been at least an hour, maybe even more. My chest hitched in a gasp, my eyes growing impossibly wide and I threw myself back in my seat when I was finally able to see what was in front of me.

So many people…

They were strapped in place, red safety belts crisscrossing their chests and keeping them tied down to multiple rows of chairs and some even to the walls. I had never seen so many at once, let alone been in the same room as that many, and my breathing sped up in apprehension as I noticed that the weight I had felt from before was the same thing.

I had been strapped down too.

"_T-take me? They…they're taking us? They're floating us?!"_

"_No! No Red, no you're not being floated. You're being set free."_

Panic flooded my veins with the adrenaline as I gazed at the dozens of teenagers in front of me, and I couldn't help but be thankful that my row of seats seemed to be pushed further back than theirs, with barely enough room to slide between the chairs and the gray steel wall behind me. But that didn't solve all my problems.

I needed to know where he was.

He had to be here, we couldn't be separated-

"What the fuck!"

The husky voice, a mixture between a growl and a groan, snapped me out of my inner ranting and I whipped my head to the right, nearly letting out a cry of relief when I saw who sat next to me. A small part of me chastised myself for not taking my surroundings further into account before, but it didn't last long as I swept my eyes over his form, checking for injuries the best that I could in our restrained positions. He didn't look much worse for wear; though I was sure bruising from his struggle before would be setting in at some point. All I could see was the pinprick mark on his neck, no doubt from a tranquilizer dart, which probably matched my own.

"Jayden!" I breathed, my hand shooting out to grasp his closest to me.

I ignored the faint pain in my wrist as I tightened my hold on him, squeezing his hand like the lifeline that it was as I trembled with a mixture of relief and adrenaline when he squeezed mine back. He coughed as he worked to stretch his limbs and I took the moment to look to my left, thankful and partially embarrassed that I hadn't noticed the younger girl still passed out next to me. Her tousled blonde curls obscured her face, hiding the features that I had become so familiar with over the last four years. But she was there, with us, and safe.

"Siran?" Jayden croaked, his voice still raspy from the forced sleep.

I shook my head, my eyes returning to him. "Still out. They hit us with some seriously strong stuff this time Jay."

"With good reason."

He nodded to himself as I watched before finally leaning his hunched over body backward, easing his head back against the seat while he looked toward me, his apprehension hidden by a deceptively calm façade. It would fool most, maybe even our companion, but not me. He never could hide from me. Worry and uncertainty shined through when his eyes finally met mine. They were a unique color, to say in the least, and one could never quite tell how to describe them accurately. Even I had trouble deciding. Were they simply green with silver striations which made it seem like a starburst pattern fell across the iris? Or was the icy silver pattern truly the main focus, and the emerald green color of the iris simply the background? Either way, few could claim they had anything like it, only two others in fact.

_Odd_, yes that was a word that came to mind.

But they were just like mine…identical.

"_They send us to our death!"_

_My voice was a hiss when it came out as my arm jerked, the sharp pain of needles embedding_ _themselves deep within the skin making it so. Warm fingers soothed the ache, distracting me as I looked_ _back up into blue eyes, their fierceness surprising me._

"_You are warriors. They send you to live! If there is anyone who can Red, it's you."_

"_This wasn't part of the deal…"_

_A pained sigh and a reassuring grip on my hand._

"_I know."_

Shaking my head, I glanced back toward Jayden, ignoring the knowing expression on his face as I bit at my bottom lip and fingered the two-inch wide wristband I had just remembered being clamped down on my skin. My eyes darted around the spacious room as I whispered to him, asking if he remembered anything at all thanks to the effects of our sedation. It was unnecessary really, seeing as (even _if_ anyone shared our sensitive hearing) just about every teenager crowded around us was either talking excitedly to their neighbors, panicking like I had been, or simply still unconscious. The heavy clomping of guardsmen was long gone by now, and we had faded into the shadows, going unnoticed.

Just like we had been conditioned to.

"Yeah, it's all still pretty jumbled up though, I need to think it all through. Meantime…take a look around you. These are the Skybox kids."

The Skybox.

It had been explained to me once when I was fifteen, the same day that a thirteen year-old Siran came to live with us. In simple terms, it was a prison for those under eighteen who had broken the laws of the Ark and were packed away until the day came that they were either pardoned or thrown into space.

Floated, they called it.

It was easy to tell that they were exactly what Jayden had said. They were all dressed similarly in boots, shirts, and pants in darkened tones; much like the ones Siran had been wearing the first day we met her. They also possessed the same hollowed out cheeks from sustained time on half-rations, and a certain haunted look in their eyes.

"What are they doing here?" I murmured, trying to count just how many bodies occupied the same space as we did.

It was unnerving. I could count on one hand the amount of people I knew outside of Jayden and Siran that I'd met and actually liked. The others…

I was nervous now, discomforted by the lack of predictability. My eyes fluttered shut as I honed in on my own heartbeat before I tuned out all other sounds and concentrated on the heartbeats around me. My mind worked quickly, tallying the constant thumps which ranged from steady and sure to erratic and frightened. The lower level held more than the second, and my rough estimate led me close to a hundred.

"So many." I murmured, opening my eyes to find Jayden assessing the room.

"I know, Marty said-"

SLAM!

Even I jumped as there was an exchanging of hissing and thuds, signaling the regulating of air pressure and the thudding of a heavy door slamming in place before locking down. Shouts and shrieks filled the room, and my stomach seemed to lurch up within my body as it felt like the bottom of the floor dropped out from underneath us. The new feeling of weightlessness confirmed what my snippets of memory had been telling me, and I gripped Jayden's hand even tighter, knowing now that we were in a ship.

And we'd just been released from the main station.

"_Okay listen, you have to listen to me now Red, it is so important and there's no time."_

_Warm hands gripped my shoulders, forcing my confused and slightly frightened eyes to hold on to the icy blue ones in front of me…_

"_I've packed you each what I can, what Abby said might help you down there and what could be gathered without being noticed. We've…pulled some strings. They'll be hidden, locked away from the others in a place only the three of you can get to and you can decide what to do with it from there."_

_My grip tightened on arms…nails biting into skin as panic filled my veins…_

"_How do we get-"_

"_Let him worry about that, each of you are being given different information so we get it all covered."_

_I nodded jerkily, pushing away the emotions I felt so I could concentrate…retain…understand…_

"_You're going to be with people, other people, and I know that makes you feel vulnerable. Push it aside Red. Do you understand me? You will have to work together, all of you, to survive this. And you will survive. You have to."_

The ship jarred, shaking me down to my bones and I let out a small shriek with many others, my eyes flying open as I was ripped from my memories. Jayden squeezed my hand, his thumb rubbing over my knuckles in comfort.

"Easy Red," He smirked at me teasingly, his voice low and calm. "It's just the atmosphere."

My lungs let out the air I'd trapped inside while holding my breath, and I laced my fingers with his. "Earth…we're really going to the ground."

Jayden smiled, but I could see his hesitation. "Yeah."

A static hum filled the air and I glanced up, eyes locking on the plasma screens anchored in different places all throughout the ship. It flicked on and my lip curled upward a little at the sight depicted there, a silent snarl caught in my throat.

"_**Prisoners of the Ark, here me now. You've been given a second chance, and as your chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but for all of us-"**_

A growl sounded from my right, and I looked away to see Jayden's lip curled back over his front teeth like mine, his eyes livid and flashing.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" He snarled, pulling at his restraints.

"Jay!" I hissed, glancing around quickly. "Stop it! They can't know!"

"…_**if the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you…expendable."**_

An ice cold shiver traced its way down my spine.

Expendable, we were all expendable.

"Your dad's a _dick_ Wells!"

The shout had come from above, laughter ringing out after it, and my lips twitched upward a bit despite the apprehension I felt upon hearing it. Jayden's eyes cut to me, a silent question that I had no answer to, and just as he was about to voice his concerns, a pained moan had each of us glancing to the left.

"This has got to be a nightmare!" Siran moaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Surely I'm in hell if I'm waking up to _that_ prick's voice."

I reached over with my free hand, holding on to her leg as her pretty blue eyes, complete with a starburst pattern of icy silver, blinked open to look up at me with a smile.

"Had us worried squirt, took you awhile to wake up." Jayden murmured, leaning forward to see her.

Siran's cheeks tinted pink with her blush and she bit her lip, looking everywhere but us as she muttered. "I might have been less than cooperative…"

"_**-Mount Weather was a military base within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years…"**_

I closed my eyes, another memory flickering across the inner lid.

"_I know you don't think you can do it, that you aren't cut out for it, but you can lead Red. You're a thinker in that head of yours, and don't even try to deny it. You look at things from all points of view possible, as often as you can at least."_

_A smirk…a knowing grin…_

"_They will need help leading Red, and as much as it makes you uncomfortable, you need to help if only to keep the three of you safe. It will be chaos if someone, or even a handful, don't step up. People will get hurt."_

"He's going to get killed."

I looked up at Siran's scoff, just in time to see a boy with shaggy brown hair float upward and push himself along the ceiling toward the opening that would lead to the second level. As he flipped himself upright, his eyes caught mine before he winked as he disappeared, and my entire body stiffened in response.

People didn't notice us…ever.

They weren't supposed to.

I looked up to see Siran's face just as shocked as mine, while Jayden's lips thinned out into a grim line and his hand tightened around mine.

"_**Your one responsibility…is to stay alive."**_

"_Stay alive Red, do you hear me? You, and Jayden, and Siran. You take care of each other. You stay alive."_

"_What about you?"_

_A flicker of fear crossed those icy blues, dulling the fierceness slightly before it reignited…the grip on my shoulders tightening as one hand smoothed my hair back…I was yanked into a strong chest…pressed into a hug…_

"_I'll be there as soon as I can. If…if it all goes right. Abby and I, we will find you. I promise."_

The speed of the ship increased, tearing through the atmosphere at higher levels, and my breath came in faster pants as Siran and Jayden each gripped my hands. I could feel their tension, the fear they kept hidden behind indifferent and calm masks that matched my own, and I opened my mouth to murmur some reassurance even though I was entirely unsure myself.

But I didn't get the chance.

The parachutes deployed and the entire ship slammed against the barrier they created, sending my body flying forward into the safety belts painfully. Screams rang out from the other teenagers, mine and Siran's included, while Jayden's nails dug into the skin of my hand. The lights flickered sporadically and sparks rained down from above. There was a dull thud and I glanced up, biting back the gasp of horror that threatened my lips as I looked down at the floor.

A body.

It lay there, twisted at unnatural angles, the form of what looked like a sixteen year-old boy. His eyes were left open in shock, hazel orbs staring unseeingly into blackness. He'd unbuckled himself like the other boy no doubt, and the impact created by the parachutes sent his body down through the ship.

Now he was dead.

It had already started.

"The rockets!" Someone shouted. "They haven't kicked in yet!"

Our ship spiraled out of control, speeding down toward the Earth's surface much too fast for any of us to survive the impact. I glanced at Jayden from the corner of my eye, finding him already staring at me, and we simultaneously squeezed each others hands. We had lived side by side for nineteen years, and this could be the moment that it ended…that we would be together no more.

"We're going to die! We're not going to make it!"

"_Stay alive, Red. You have to stay alive."_

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><p><em><strong>*Story Tidbit!<strong>  
>Just in case anyone was wondering, I decided on who would represent my OC's that you have been introduced to!<br>_

-Red (nickname): On cover art!  
>-Jayden: Colton Haynes<br>-Siran (pronounced Sy-ran): AnnaSophia Robb


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Note:** Second chapter! I have a few more already written that I'm editing, so let's hope you guys are enjoying this so far! Thank you tons to those who have already favorited and followed this fiction! And an extra special thank you to my first reviewer, xXRoweenaJAugustineXx! Your reviews were awesome and totally made my day! I can't wait for you to find out more about our little band of troublemakers! (;

Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Two<strong>_

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><p>I wanted to cry. I wanted to laugh.<p>

But I had time to do neither.

The ship had made contact with the Earth, slamming us down into the ground with such an extreme force that it sent a shockwave of pain slithering up my spine, causing me to cry out along with those around me. It powered down then, leaving behind nothing except the sound of its passengers' heavy, startled breathing. No mechanical hum, no constant electrical buzz, only pure silence.

And in the next instant, Jayden had us up and moving.

While Siran and I still recovered from our shock, he had already disengaged his safety belt by practically ripping through it and stood to do the same to ours before he grabbed my hand and Siran's elbow, lifting us from our seats. I glanced around in confusion, my mind still lagging behind from panic and shock, before I understood what he was trying to do as the crowd began to surge upward from their seats with their minds set on finding the exit door. It didn't take him long to find the perfect space, and he pushed us into the darkness of an offset nook to the left of the door. With a hushing motion to us both, we faded into the shadows.

Just like always.

My eyebrows furrowed as I watched the first person to make it to the door pass by us, not even noticing the three of us standing there. His brownish black locks were slicked back and he stood maybe a little taller than Jayden, which would put him around six foot five. His jaw was clenched with determination, obviously wanting to make it to the door first, and his stride was long and purposeful. That's not what stood out to me though. What _did_ was the fact that he looked too old to be classified as a Skybox prisoner, older than even Jayden and I possibly, and he was clothed in a guardsmen uniform.

It was strange.

Then again, our very presence on this ship was possibly even more so.

I gave Jayden a questioning look from where he stood pressed into my side but he gave me a quick shake of his head, tilting his chin upward to indicate the approach of teenagers from our floor and the ladders of the floors above. They grouped together, pushing forward toward the entrance as the boy from before shouted at them to back away, all calling for the doors to be opened.

Except one, of course.

"STOP!"

I arched an eyebrow, tilting my head as I watched a blonde hurry toward the front of the group, pushing people out of her way rudely as she did so. It wasn't until I caught a good look at her face that my entire body stiffened, and I held back a hiss.

_Clarke Griffin._

"The air could be toxic!"

My nails bit into the skin of my palm and my eyes narrowed as I watched her, tracking each of her movements carefully.

"What the hell is she doing here Jay?!" I hissed, my voice even lower than a whisper.

He shook his head quickly, tightening his grip on my shoulder as he did so, no doubt worried I would spring forward and lay into the nearly eighteen year-old girl. My teeth ground together as I watched her argue with the brunette, cursing my luck that we had somehow ended up stuck on a planet that included her with it. Suddenly, a soft and familiar voice spoke up, cutting across the air and the argument between them and I was left frozen in place, completely unable to move despite my brain screaming at me to.

"Bellamy?"

I gasped, eyes growing even wider as a new body pushed its way through the crowd. She was shorter than me by an inch or two, with long flowing brown hair that nearly reached her elbows, and bright blue eyes that were currently wide with disbelief and awe.

"My god, look at how big you are." The brunette choked out, reaching forward to grab her in a hug.

I lurched forward on instinct, only to have Jayden grip me around each of my arms and haul me back up against him, hissing furiously at me for attempting to break cover. I struggled against him, wanting nothing more than to reach the girl in front of me, while he continued to look down at me like I had lost my entire mind. Inwardly, I didn't blame him; after all…he had no clue who the hell she even was.

"Little O." I whispered, curling and digging my nails into his arm.

"Who?!" He snarled, glaring at me.

Never had I told anyone about her, not a single soul.

Not even him.

I swallowed, my eyes darting back to him and then resting on her yet again, a smirk playing on my lips when I watched her scramble and fight against her brother's hold to get her hands on a girl who had called out about her past, mocking her for being the girl under the floor.

Our lessons had been teaching her well…before she was taken.

Jayden shook me, demanding answers, but there was no time to give them. I relaxed into his hold once more as there was a hissing and screeching sound ringing throughout the ship, making me wince with its echoing loudness.

And blinding, bright light filled the void.

I was momentarily worried that we would be spotted, but I suddenly found myself not giving a damn as air, beautiful and wonderful air, rushed into the dropship, blowing our hair back from our faces. I sucked in a deep breath, filling my lungs entirely to capacity, and for once it didn't feel like something was lacking, or like I couldn't get enough. The oxygen here was pure and plentiful, not carefully rationed and monitored like back on the Ark. Here it simply rushed in, uninhibited as it flowed all around us and soothed deep aches within all our bodies that we didn't even know we had. My eyes darted to Siran's and then up to Jayden's, finding the same awe and amazement that I was feeling as our eyes adjusted to the brightness glaring down on us from the sun that was now, so very far away. The colors were vibrant, alive and stunning in a way that could never be achieved back in the lab, even through the hundreds upon hundreds of books the three of us had flipped through in our years of training and learning that had been taken from Earth before the war broke out.

"Oh my god…" I whispered, unable to even name the emotion I was feeling.

There were deep, enchanting greens, and strong browns that made up the trees, grasses, and dirt. A flickering orangey yellow glowed further away, and the strong scent of charred wood hit my senses as I gazed into the fires that were started on impact. I could smell the air, the crisp freshness of the forest and waters hidden within it to the North, and the sweet scent of sap exposed after the ship had cut down multiple trees. Thuds on metal pulled me from my trance, and my eyes darted down to see her, the little girl I had stumbled upon so long ago, slowly inching her way down the ramp created by our exit door. I held my breath in anticipation, my hand gripping Jayden's tightly, and I nearly vibrated with excitement as she paused at the end of it.

And finally, jumped out.

We all stood in silence, not a single person even breathing as her feet made impact with the soft soil beneath her and she spun around in a small circle, a brilliant smile on her face. She opened her mouth as she threw her arms up in the air, and a grin formed on my lips as I watched from the darkness, waiting for her first words.

"WE'RE BACK BITCHES!"

It was like a battle cry, long and loud as it echoed through the forest and prompted similar cries to rise up from the group of prisoners as they all surged forward, sprinting down the ramp and out into the greenery. A giggle left both mine and Siran's lips and I quirked an eyebrow when I found even Jayden grinning stupidly. We were alone quickly, Clarke being the last to finally leave, and we finally relaxed back against the steel wall behind us, glancing at each other silently.

"Welcome home." I whispered, biting my lip and squeezing their hands.

They squeezed mine back and Jayden flashed us a smile before he cleared his throat noisily, and fixed us both with a serious look.

"We find the hatch Marty told us to, take a look and decide what to do before we make our presence known." He murmured, staring at us intensely, before he set blazing eyes that flashed a golden hue on me next.

"And _you_, you have some explaining to do."

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><p>We found the hidden hatch down the narrow little hallway toward the back of the main floor, leading all the way to what could have been the back of the ship.<p>

Jayden was livid.

After twisting the third and fourth bolts down from the tapered ceiling and sliding back the book sized piece of metal to reveal both a palm and optic scanner complete with keypad, he quickly completed all three, murmuring that three codes would open the door, and each one coincided with our roster numbers. The broad sheet of metal in front of us turned out to be a door, and on gaining access it slid open rapidly, disappearing between the walls. It was as we stepped into the dim room and the door quickly slid back into place behind us that Jayden rounded on me, demanding answers about the girl I'd known and nearly tackled before he'd drug me back.

And I didn't know how to answer him.

How to explain that I'd kept a secret from him, something I had _never_ done before.

Siran arched her eyebrows and threw me a 'good luck' look before she slinked away from us, leaving Jayden towering over me, his arms banded across his broad chest and his face set in a stern, reprimanding expression. I let out a huff of air, resting my hands on my hips as I glared back at him.

"_How_ do you know her Arianwyn?" He bit out, his eyes blazing.

I winced, knowing how irritated he was if he was using my full name. Quickly I looked around for a distraction, nearly squealing when my eyes landed on the grid across the room that had our choice weapons strapped to it, picked carefully after years and years of practice.

Our guardians really did have the hook up after all it seemed.

My feet were already moving toward it, my eyes lighting on the set of twin short swords and the smaller recurve bow and quiver of arrows that I had no doubt were secured for me, when Jayden's warm hand snatched up my elbow, swinging me back around to face him fully.

"Don't even try it Ari," He glared, though he did roll his eyes in exasperation. "You're going to explain this to me."

"Fine, _fine_!" I exclaimed, "But do I have to do it right this second?!"

Siran giggled across the room and I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, finding her digging through a pack that she was hunched over. She felt my eyes on her and grinned up at me, grasping a leather bound book in her hand and wiggling it in the air toward me.

"Our books are here." She murmured excitedly, her eyes bright and her teeth flashing in her smile.

I turned back to find Jayden frowning down at me, his expression hiding the hurt he felt over finding out that I had kept something as major as knowing someone from him, and I instantly felt bad. _He_ knew everyone _I_ knew, and despite the fact that he didn't like the only acquaintance we had made outside of the lab, it stung that I had met someone in the Ark and not told him a single thing about it.

"Jay, I'll tell you everything, I promise. Let's just take a look around first, and decide how we're going to do this." I whispered, squeezing his forearm in comfort.

He searched my eyes silently and after finding the truth in my words there he nodded, leaning forward to kiss my forehead before flashing me a mischievous grin, his eyes darting over the grid on the back wall and what looked like three plastic tubs, each with our assigned titles on them.

"Time to suit up."

As I sifted through the tub that belonged to me, I couldn't help the wave of gratitude that rushed through me for Marty and the two doctors we had actually come to like, Abby and Kaleb. There was no doubt in my mind that they had called in multiple favors to procure the supplies that sat in front of us now, for us. It was something I was sure no one else on the ship had, and I briefly worried over that for a moment. I looked up to find Jayden already staring at me, his mind in the same place as mine as he too looked through the extra pairs of clothes, both for living and training, that we had. Though it wasn't much, another set of day clothes to add to the ones we already had on and two sets of training clothes, it was more than enough. Between that, the weapons, and each of our packs filled to the brim with things from our rooms in the lab; they had risked plenty to make sure they'd been waiting for us.

Jayden cleared his throat again, looking up at Siran and me before he spoke. "When we go out there, I don't think we need to be fully armed. It could start a riot over who should get what."

Siran scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's not like many of them would even know _how_ to use them anyway."

"Regardless," I murmured, frowning down at the dagger I'd found stored away in my boot. "We have no idea what they were put away for, some of them could actually be there for something other than being stupid enough to spray paint a wall and worthy of lock up."

Jayden shot me a look, shaking his head. "Enough about him already."

"I'm just saying." I sighed, standing up again.

I looked in the mirror as I attached the thigh holster to my right leg over the black spandex leggings I'd been changed into while I was knocked out and straightened the blood red tank top after doing so, watching as it clung to my body like a second set of skin. All of our clothes were made of the same material meant to hug our bodies but remain completely flexible, except the one pair of black cargo pants that had been added to the tub. I pulled my black jacket on over it, making sure the hood that was attached to the tank top was pulled out from underneath it for easy reach, and bent down to relace the strings of the soft black leather boots I'd worn in long ago before I slid the knife into the holster I'd tightened on my thigh.

"The last thing we need is people who don't know what they're doing getting their hands on our weapons," I murmured, glancing again at the grid on the wall. "They'll get themselves hurt."

Both my companions hummed in agreement, and I glanced into the mirror once more. My eyes fixed on the tiny marking an inch from the corner of my right eye, something that I shared with Siran and Jayden both. It had been there my entire life, the miniscule black star that contrasted so harshly with the creamy ivory of my skin tone.

It marked us as different, strange; not one of _them_.

But one of _us_.

My cheekbones were high, my uniquely colored eyes wide and framed with thick, dark lashes, and my hair fell in waves down to the bottom of my shoulder blades. It was a rich mixture of mahogany and auburn, leaving the red tones to set against the brown ones. That and what they'd done to me, what they'd done to _us_, is what earned me the name they had chosen for me seven years after birth.

His cold voice still sent shivers down my spine. His sinister chuckle driven from dark amusement disgusted me.

"_I think…we'll call you Red Riding Hood. Oh, how ironic."_

Years later, once Abby had found us, she'd let us pick new names, ones that were actually real and not born from ages old fairytales that we had read in the books saved from the war. But the title had always stuck. And, if I was honest, I didn't actually mind being called Red. It's what they knew me by after all.

"Stop thinking about it." Jayden murmured, his voice soothing the ache in my chest that had sprung up once more, warming the cold the memory of _his_ voice left behind.

I shot him a small smile, and he winked at me in return.

"Should we-"

"Do you guys hear that?" Siran murmured, her brows furrowed.

We each stilled, our eyes closing as voices from outside the dropship trickled into our hearing, and I found myself clenching my jaw at Clarke Griffin's demanding tone.

Even if what she said had validity.

"_-the hungrier we'll get and the harder this will be. How long do you think we can last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave. Now."_

I scoffed, rolling my eyes as I glanced at Jayden.

As if they'd make it twenty miles walking on their first try in one night.

"_I got a better idea. You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged to the hard work for a change."_

"See? It's already starting." Jayden murmured, standing. "C'mon, let's get out there and see what we're dealing with. Take one knife each, leave the bigger stuff and packs here."

Whoever had spoken, his words were met with loud cheers, and the three of us quickly moved through the hidden doorway, stepping silently back down the hallway and into the light that filtered in through the open doorway to the outside. It was only when a deeper, but still familiar voice spoke out that I rushed forward, ignoring Jayden's snarls to get back into the group.

"_You're not listening! We all need to go!"_

Jayden snatched my arm, pulling me to a stop as I faced him with wide eyes and whispered a name that had his eyes filling with both nostalgia and irritation.

"Wells."

* * *

><p>The tension was thick in the air, practically stifling as Finn Collins held his firm posture, rising to his full height and staring down the icy blue eyes of John Murphy after breaking up their fight. The boy was itching for conflict, more than ready to lay a beating on the son of the man who had given the order to have his father floated, thrown out into space.<p>

He would get it, soon enough.

Crowded around them, the delinquents sent down from the Ark were all waiting for the group's next move and more than ready to see a little revenge handed out, unfair as it was.

But the chance never came.

A booming thud followed by two smaller ones echoed through the trees, boots on metal, and everyone's eyes swung back toward the open door of the dropship in confusion. Hadn't everyone already exited, making a run for it into the forest over twenty minutes before? Clarke Griffin could've sworn she was the last to touch foot on the ground, and Wells Jaha was sure he hadn't seen anyone lingering inside when he'd checked on the communication systems before heading out to climb to the roof.

That wasn't the case though, apparently, because the evidence was right there in front of them.

Three figures stood, gazing out into the open air.

Arranged in a triangular formation, the largest of the three took point and was obviously male judging by the broadness of his form and his height. He was followed closely by two others; smaller, shorter, and obviously female. To his left was the shorter of the two and to his right stood the other, a little closer to him. Each was dressed in dark colors, and the girls' outfits along with the boy's shirt clung to their bodies in a skintight fashion, entirely different from those of the teenagers around them.

And each wore a hood, two in black and one in red, casting their features into shadow.

It was silent for a moment as everyone in the clearing gaped at them, taking in the differences between the group of three and themselves while the new additions simply breathed, their bodies held upright and unnaturally still. They gave off a feeling, a vibe of power and danger that made it hard for anyone to even thinking of questioning them.

Until someone finally had the courage to speak.

"Who the _hell_ are you?" Bellamy Blake growled out, taking a step closer.

Trouble, his conscious answered, that's who they were.

"Forget who," Jasper Jordan murmured, eyes wide. "_What_ the hell are you?"

Smirks twitched on the three newcomers' faces, though they remained unseen, until the male reached up fluidly and slipped his hood back after turning to face them. Gasps and murmurs sounded out, the color of his eyes taking many off guard who took quick steps back as he stepped forward. The two behind followed, and they each dropped off the high side of the ramp with ease, something that might have sprained lesser beings' ankles had they attempted it.

It was something that did _not_ go unnoticed by Bellamy's eyes.

He straightened to his full height as the male walked toward him, the crowd parting easily and leaving the group from the original confrontation to their own devices as they stepped further back into the trees so that they could listen. Eyes narrowed, it was easy to see that they matched each other in height and broadness, but Bellamy couldn't say with certainty that he would walk out the winner of a fight between them should it occur.

And the color of his eyes was unnerving.

"I asked who you were."

Smirking, amusement flickered over the newcomer's face, and he tilted his head down to glance at the figure to his right before his eyes swept over the silent group in front of them. They lingered slightly on Murphy, narrowing in contemplation, then on Clarke, a glance of indifference, before stopping on Wells, and recognition sparked.

In both of their eyes.

"Jayden." Wells murmured, his chest rising and falling quicker than before as his eyes flitted between the two figures next to him.

"You _know_ this guy?" Bellamy barked, glaring at the Chancellor's son.

He was ignored as the teenager simply swallowed.

"We are neither prisoners…" The male murmured, his voice quiet but strong, almost hypnotizing as he fixed his silvery green eyes back on Bellamy.

The hood to his left dropped back, revealing a girl who looked to be about seventeen with blond curls spilling past her shoulders and similar eyes, though they were blue instead of green.

"Nor are we _privileged_." She smirked, arching an eyebrow.

Both their eyes cut to the right and Bellamy, along with many others, found himself holding his breath as the third figure dropped their hood.

What he saw made his eyes widen unconsciously, and the girl in question quirk an eyebrow in pleased amusement, despite the dark look that passed over the male's face. Her long hair flowed down her back, her full lips pulled up in a smirk, and her eyes were an identical match to the boy's in front of her. It didn't go unnoticed to the ones around them that each shared a tattoo to the side of their right eyes, something that was forbidden on the Ark, and raised more than one person's curiosity.

"We're ghosts." She finished, her voice light and airy, alluring in a way that had heat stirring in the pit of Bellamy's stomach.

Wells took a staggering step forward, his eyes locked on the last girl to show her face from beneath her hood.

"_Red_." He whispered, his tone soft with surprise.

She tilted her head in acknowledgement, her eyes happy yet wary. "Wells."

"You're _what_?" Bellamy snapped, irritated for a reason he couldn't even begin to explain when the Chancellor's son spoke to her with such familiarity and she answered him in turn.

"They're ghosts."

Clarke Griffin spoke up instead, her voice wavering slightly when all three turned their unnaturally colored orbs on her at once. "The Ghosts of the Ark."


	4. Chapter Three

**Author's Note:** Chapter Three! Shout out to all the new followers and favoriters! You guys are totally awesome for supporting and liking my story, so thanks a million!

**Review Response:**  
><em>*xXRoweenaJAugustinexX-<em> Gah, I know! You'll probably love this then, I hope I portrayed it right. And I revealed a little more here, I'm trying to get the story moving along but don't want to give away too much at one time. Tell me what you think! (;  
><em>*MulticolouredEyedGirl-<em> Your wish is my command!

Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Three<strong>_

* * *

><p>…<em>17 years previously…<em>

"_They don't even have names."_

_A young guardsmen of twenty-one stood, his blue eyes trained on the one-way glass that allowed him the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a pair of toddlers in the white room on the other side while he murmured to himself. They too were dressed in shifts of a similar color, leaving the brown and reddish brown hair of the little boy and girl to stand out against it. That hair was like a smoldering flame, always drawing his eyes to it as it had started to grow out months previously. It was their eyes though, that deep emerald green, that nearly took his breath away._

"_They do not require names." A cool, detached voice spoke up, startling him. "We have number to identify them by."_

_The guardsmen ground his teeth together, his jaw tight with restrained anger._

"_Besides, it is nearly time for them to undergo their procedures. Chances are they will not live through the changes. Gifting a name to them would be an unnecessary hassle."_

_He reacted without pause or thought, reaching out and twisting his hands in the white collar of the man's lab coat and yanking him clean off of the ground with his strength alone. Rage pulsed through his veins, his blue eyes turning to sheets of ice as he stared down at the smaller man who, though he kept a calm expression, began to fidget in his grip._

"_Those are children!" He snarled, shoving the scientist into a wall before releasing him. "How can you be so cruel?!"_

_The man smirked, smoothing his coat before his eyes flickered once to the two young beings behind the glass and then back to the guard in front of him._

"_They are not children, Cadet Collins. They do not exist. They are simply ghosts."_

* * *

><p>My eyes burned into hers, ignoring everything else around me as I glared at the blonde and blue-eyed teenager in front of me. Of course, the murmurs and uncomfortable shifting of bodies around us didn't go unnoticed, I was very well aware of it just like I was aware of someone's gaze burning into my side, how Jayden had curled his body in toward me and pulled Siran closer at the same time, and the movement of a mocha skinned person who was struggling to reach me.<p>

"I told you." Jayden ground out, the sound a mixture between a growl and a whisper.

Yes, he had.

Those nights I had been tortured, asking myself why, what had we done to make our only friend we had ever had leave us behind, he had told me it was for her.

I just hadn't wanted to believe.

"Red-" Wells murmured, reaching out toward me.

Jayden stepped forward, his fists clenched and his body taunt with repressed anger that practically vibrated through his frame as he glared back at the boy.

"_You_ don't touch her."

The two stared each other down, dark eyes meeting silvery greens as they both remained stiff in front of me, and my eyes flickered around the clearing. Most of the gathered prisoners had dispersed further into the clearing caused by our impact with the ground and the trees beyond. My eyebrows quirked up, some of the anger that had been flooding my body disappearing as I began to wonder why exactly they had done so, considering they were probably more than curious about our appearance. The only ones that had stayed clustered around us were those who were directly involved in the scuffle before.

And I had Bellamy Blake to thank for that.

Who was now clearing his throat, most likely demanding attention.

"Let me get this straight, you're _ghosts_? What the hell does that even mean?" He questioned, keeping a body tucked behind him as he stepped closer.

His dark eyes set right on me.

They were a brownish black color and seemed to suck mine right in, making it hard to break eye contact with him in any way. I'd never seen a color so deeply brown that it practically smoldered into my own, distracting me in a way that kept me from noticing the standoff between Jayden and Wells, along with everything else.

I swear I heard a giggle come from behind him, and I dimly thought I had an idea of just who it belonged to.

Jayden sighed, backing down from his stance with Wells and running quick fingers through his hair as he stepped closer to me again. "Yes, we don't really-

"They're experiments."

My eyes shot toward the blonde who just couldn't keep her nose out of our business, and I felt a fury reignite inside of me when I easily took in her judgmental expression and tone. The anger burned through me, frying synapses and boiling my blood as I glared, my lip curling up to bare my teeth at her. My entire body trembled, my fingernails cutting into the skin of my palm as I clenched my fists together, and a sound that was mixed between a growl and a hiss expelled from my throat, reeking of danger.

"Oh shit-!" Jayden hissed reaching for me.

He was too late.

Without even taking a second to think on it, my body reacted instinctively to the red haze of infuriation within my mind and I lunged forward, more than ready to rip the girl to pieces. I avoided Jayden's grasp with a quick dodge, only to slam into a body that positioned itself in front of me, grappling to keep a hold on my upper arms as two more sets used the moment and banded themselves around my hips and midsection.

"We're _PEOPLE_, you stupid _bitch_!" I snarled, struggling against the hands holding me back.

It probably wasn't the best impression to make on those around us.

But I found that I _really_ didn't give a shit.

I was out for blood.

"RED!" A voice yelled, trying to capture my attention. "Red, look at me!"

My eyes were centered on Clarke, hopefully searing into her skin as I imagined ways to destroy her once I broke free from the hands holding me back, and a sick satisfaction rose up inside of me when I noticed her eyes widen and she nearly tripped on her ass while trying to back away. The others around us, namely Bellamy and the brunette who had been confronting Wells before we'd jumped out onto the dropship's door, were chuckling quietly as they watched.

No one moved to help her.

Except the person in front of me.

"Red!" He shook my shoulders, ignoring Jayden's snarl to keep his hands off me. "Red _listen_ to me!"

The laughter around me and the sound of him yelling brought me partly out of the trance my anger had put me in, and I was completely ripped from it when I realized it wasn't just Jayden who had his hands on me, holding me still. My cheeks burned when I glanced up, catching the brown-eyed gaze of the boy who had unbuckled himself from his seat before we landed.

The boy who had noticed us when no one else ever did.

His eyes were surprisingly open and intense, betraying what he felt as they flickered back and forth from me to Clarke and back again with indecision, but they stayed put and lit up with amusement when he caught sight of me staring at him and the flush that had colored my cheeks. A lazy grin pulled his lips upward and he squeezed my hips where his hands rested, still cautiously keeping me anchored to the ground between his body and Jayden's.

"Hey Little Red." He flashed me a wink, causing my cheeks to redden further. "Knew you'd be jumping into my arms at some point."

I choked on air, spluttering indignantly as he chuckled quietly and I continued to blush furiously, crossing my arms over my chest while I avoided looking directly at him.

"Red…_RED_!"

"WHAT!" I snapped angrily, turning my eyes up to meet the dark brown ones. "What Wells? What could you _possibly_ want now?"

"I just wanted-" He started, reaching out toward me again.

I backed up quickly, ignoring the fact that I was leaning back into the chests of both the unknown boy and Jayden in my attempt to get away from him as I continued to snarl at him, my arms waving about.

"You wanted _what_ Wells? To catch up on lost time maybe," I said, sarcasm twisting my voice unpleasantly. "To tell me how sorry you were, but you just _had_ to listen to your pretty little princess? Because that's what you did, isn't that right?"

His cheeks burned and he looked down, his expression full of shame. I knew I'd feel bad about yelling at him later, awful probably, but the anger I'd held over his sudden unexplained abandonment of us had been pent up for nearly two years, and it simply came spewing forth from my lips without permission.

"She opens her mouth and you come running, she says you shouldn't do something and you drop it without thinking of the consequences or how it might affect another, right? Because she's Clarke Griffin, so of course what she says is always correct, right? _RIGHT?!_"

My voice had steadily become louder until I was practically yelling, dragging the boys who were attempting to keep a hold of me forward as I advanced on the boy who I used to know so well, before he had left us behind. Jayden had told me what happened, had guessed that it was the little blonde girl we had seen once who convinced him to stop speaking to us, to stop meeting up with us in secret, and I had refused to believe that he would do so. He would never abandon us willingly, he had been the only one outside of doctors and scientists to know of us for years.

It's a _horrible_ feeling, being wrong.

His eyes met mine once more, widening as he looked at me, and it was then that I realized my eyes had been filling up with unshed tears, ones I had stopped letting myself cry after the first month of him being gone. He opened his mouth, lifting his arm to attempt to reach for me one last time, and I was shamefully weak enough that I might have even let him.

But he didn't get the chance.

A tall, broad body stepped between us, blocking my sight of him and his of me in two easy steps. I found myself staring at the back in front of me, the borrowed guardsmen jacket a grey and black color that pulled across the muscles there. They rippled once as he crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance, his aura radiating confidence and power as his chin lifted up slightly and I sagged into the arms holding onto my body, the adrenaline finally leaving me.

"I think it's time you leave."

My breath hitched and an involuntary shudder rippled down my spine at the sound of his commanding voice, rich and velvety. Jayden quirked an eyebrow, his eyes darting between mine as he looked down at me after agreeing with Bellamy, telling him to go.

"You can't just make me-" Wells snapped, angry now.

Another body pushed forward, the brunette who had been scuffling with my ex-bestfriend, and he too crossed his arms over his lean chest as he stared at Wells, a smirk playing on his lips.

"You heard them…_Chancellor_. They're with us." He drawled, picking at his nails.

My eyes flew open wide as I looked up at Jayden, who kept up a mask of indifference, and Siran who looked just as shocked as I did. I wasn't sure what to think of the teenager's declaration, but I also didn't want to continue the conversation so I kept quiet, watching and waiting for whatever was going to happen next. Wells tried looking at me once more, but I turned my face away, studying the trees instead, and with a sigh and the call of his name from Clarke he turned and limped away from us.

I sighed, easing my defensive posture as I licked my lips.

Jayden turned to the boy who still had hands on me, gently pulling me from his grasp as he watched him with a grateful yet untrusting expression as he looked him over.

"Thanks…" He trailed off, obviously waiting.

"Finn," The boy laughed, nodding. "No trouble. She's quite the spitfire, isn't she?

Jayden laughed in response and I stiffened, glaring at them both as I brushed fingers through my hair and snapped. "_She_ is right here!"

Finn chuckled, sending me yet another wink. "See you later Little Red, duty calls."

We watched him go as Jayden and Siran took up positions around me, one looking down on me sternly and the other watching the teenager disappear around the edge of the ship toward Clarke and Wells. I sighed again, my wary eyes turning to the body looming over me while ignoring the gaze of Bellamy and the other kid who had moved back a little after the confrontation.

"You were going to fight…" Jayden started, sounding both reprimanding and amused.

"I know." I muttered.

"You looked like you wanted to rip her to pieces-" He kept going.

"I know."

"-like you weren't going to stop. It took _three_ people to hold you back Red."

"I _know_."

"Not to mention it was the last thing any of these people needed to see us doing…" He muttered low enough so that only Siran and I heard him.

"I _KNOW_ Jayden, okay? I'm sorry." I sighed.

He fixed me with sympathetic eyes and went to speak again, only he was jostled aside. A blur of a body moved toward me, and though my muscles tensed momentarily, I quickly recognized the brown flowing hair and bright blue eyes that were coming right for me, despite her brother's shouts for her to stop. She threw herself into my arms, wrapping her own around me tightly in a hug I hadn't felt in a year.

"Ari!" She shouted, her voice muffled in my shoulder.

I smiled brightly, ignoring the shocked gaze of Bellamy and the wary acceptance from Jayden who now stood across from us with Siran at his side.

"I missed you, Little O." I whispered, hugging her just as closely.

There was a shocked, choking sound coming from behind us, and I smirked when I caught Bellamy looking between us, his eyes wide in confusion. He went ignored by his little sister who grinned brightly at me, now about the same height as I was, before her eyes turned back to Jayden. He blanched, his body tightening as he eyed her with uncertainty that was carefully hidden, and possibly even a little jealousy since I had never told him of her and she knew me by something more than just the nickname of 'Red'. Gripping my hand, she looked back toward me, pulling me over to my companions.

"Is this him then?" She asked excitedly, turning to look at him again.

I gazed up into the questioning eyes of the boy who had been by my side for nineteen years, never leaving me behind or abandoning me for someone else, who had the same colored eyes as I did, who had been through the same horrors.

Whose blood matched mine.

"Yes, this is him." I murmured, grinning again. "Octavia, meet Jayden...my twin brother."


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Note:** Chapter four is here! Thanks again to all those who are supporters of the story, it makes writing that much more pleasing and entertaining! Things begin to heat up a bit in the chapter, and the next they really take off, so stay tuned!

**Review Response:**  
><em>*xXRoweenaJAugustinexX-<em> YES! The story has a fangirl! My goal is achieved, lol! I am so happy that you're such an awesome reviewer, seriously, I get the biggest smile when I find one from you! Ah yes, Wells. He made a major booboo, something that will be fully explained in the next chapter or two if you haven't already figured it out. And gah, I know! I adore Jayden and Ari's sibling relationship! Hope you enjoy this update!  
><em>*Fiona-<em> Hahaha, thank you! Your wish is my command! :D  
><em>*Enecs-<em> Right?! I think the girl could use getting knocked down a few pegs, just my opinion though ;)  
><em>*Guest Reviewer<em>- Why thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it, and I hope it keeps you hooked!  
><em>*BlackMoonWhiteSky-<em> Cue blush! Thank you very much! That means a lot to hear, it's so easy to start doubting oneself when rereading and editing. Here's a new update for you! :)  
><em>*RainbowDragacornus-<em> Thank you tons! I hope you continue to enjoy reading the story!

Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Four<strong>_

* * *

><p>It was quiet where I sat.<p>

Well, relatively quiet considering my hearing was much more sensitive than that of an average human being and the noise from back closer to the ship remained a buzz in my ears that I tuned out. I could still remember the first day I had started hearing things so clearly, how overwhelmingly loud it had been, and how hysterically frightened I had become. Four years old at the time, it was a lot for a small child to handle, and no one had been there to help explain why my ears hurt and why everything was just so _loud_.

Except Jayden.

Assuming the role of big brother (_by all of seven minutes, hmph_) was instinctive, and he had wrapped his arms around me before hauling my smaller body into his lap where he hushed, soothed, and rocked me gently until I finally fell into a peaceful sleep, the beat of his heart keeping me calm. A small smile twitched at my lips as I looked back down from the treetops I'd been staring at, turning my sensitive eyes back toward the makeshift campsite. Wandering off into the trees while my brother was preoccupied probably wasn't the smartest move in the book, but I just needed a moment away from everyone and everything that was happening.

It was all moving so fast.

When Finn had said duty called, he wasn't kidding. Shortly after disappearing off with Clarke and Wells, he had come back to let us know they were heading out for Mount Weather and the supplies that were supposedly there, interrupting introductions between Octavia and the two people I had only told her stories about. Without listening as her older brother and even I tried to talk her out of going with them, she had signed herself up for the trip along with Siran along for company. Both Jayden and I were worried to have the younger member of our trio separate so far from us, but she made a valid point.

_Someone_ had to get a look and feel for what was around us, everything from animals that they might cross to plant life that could prove useful.

And she was the best to do it.

So we had let her go, despite the worrisome feeling that was lingering in my gut.

I made myself scarce after that, not wanting to find myself a part of an interrogation. Bellamy wanted information; _who_ we were, _what_ we were, and how in the _hell_ I knew his sister without anyone else knowing about it. I could see it there in those dark eyes, a fire was brewing, and after my confrontation with Wells it was the last thing I wanted to deal with. There was also the piercing stare of the other brunette who had stepped up and called us one of their own that I couldn't seem to escape. It didn't burn like Bellamy's, but I could still feel it when Murphy leveled his calculating gaze on me.

"Hey."

A shriek left my lips and I spun around, my chest heaving as my body dropped down defensively until I recognized who was smirking right in my face.

"_Jesus_ Jayden! Could you not give me a heart attack?!" I screeched, smacking his chest.

He stumbled back a little before flashing me a grin and stepping closer, turning his body to look out at all the teenagers who were running wild within the trees. No one seemed to be all that concerned that we had landed on the wrong mountain and had little to no supplies, that there were no sleeping arrangements or even food. They were all too busy either playing games, fighting, or shoving their tongues down each others throats.

"Shame on you Red," He murmured. "You must not be paying attention if I can sneak up on you."

I sighed and shrugged, leaning into his side slightly. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed, looking down at me.

"Are you alright?"

There it was. I had been waiting for him to finally ask me.

Nodding, I crossed my arms over my chest and began walking back toward the dropship. "I'm fine."

With a sound that was a mixture between a scoff and a snort, Jayden reached out with one of his long arms and snagged the back of my jacket, gripping it in his fist. With a gentle yank I found myself being pulled backward and swung around to face him, a calm expression with concerned silvery green eyes staring down into mine. He arched a single eyebrow in silent communication, letting me know that he didn't buy a single thing I was selling.

"Okay, I'll _be_ fine. Is that better?"

A few more seconds of imploring stares later, he gave me a single nod and glanced back up again, his eyes narrowing as he stared at something over my shoulder. He heaved an annoyed sigh, blowing air harshly through his nose before he rolled his eyes.

"He certainly isn't making any friends."

I whipped around, immediately catching on to what he was talking about. Wells was standing on the side of the dropship after putting down a load of wood that I assumed he was stocking for a fire, and once again he was facing off with John Murphy and one of his followers. The boy's jaw was clenched tightly as he eyed the Chancellor's son, his fingers twisting a homemade knife crafted from the spare metal of the ship that had come apart when we landed. I sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose as I did so while I watched the makings of a fight brewing once more.

"His ankle is screwed, he's supposed to be resting." I groaned, my body tensing as I began listening in to their conversation.

_-my father, he begged for mercy in the airlock chamber when your father floated him…_

A low rumble sounded out from Jayden's chest and I felt him move closer, his voice dropping a he spoke. "Don't get involved Ari."

_-you spelled 'die' wrong, geniuses…_

Despite my brother's warning, I couldn't keep my body from springing forward on instinct when I watched Murphy turn toward Wells after he had rammed his shoulder into his while passing by him, the knife gripped tightly in his hand. Jayden let out a hiss of my name from behind me and was no doubt following, but I didn't stop. Faster than should have been possible my body was blocking the path between the two boys, my spine straightened to my full height of five foot six, and my eyes shining into the slightly shocked but clearly intrigued icy blues in front of me.

"Leave him be." I murmured without blinking, keeping careful watch of the boy's movements in front of me with the sound of fading footsteps behind me.

He stared back at me, his sharply defined face unchanging and blank before a smirk curled his lips upward in a cross between amusement and maliciousness. He was dark, I could feel it, the anger and hate that rolled off his body, born of circumstances he had no control over. It put me on edge, left my body jittery with adrenaline, prepared for a fight if it came to it.

But I hoped it wouldn't.

"What do you care?" He questioned, stepping further into my space. "You spent part of the morning screaming at him."

The muscle in my jaw clenched and ticked as I grit my teeth, my eyes narrowing on his and refusing to look away while he took deliberate steps closer until his chest nearly brushed mine. I had to tilt my neck upward to keep the eye contact, a move that left me vulnerable and had Jayden tensing where he stood off to the side, ready to pounce if needed. We stared at each other in silence, both evaluating one another without backing down, searching for weaknesses.

He was right.

I _had_ spent my reunion with Wells yelling and giving in to the anger I had kept compartmentalized for two years.

But that didn't mean I would let others hurt him for his father's actions, something he had no control over at all.

I was better than that.

And, if I was going to be _painfully_ honest, a part of me missed the little boy who had discovered our existence years ago.

Completely busy with glaring back at him, I was caught off guard when he reached forward suddenly, warm fingers trailing across the blade strapped to my outer right thigh. My breath left my body and my eyes widened in surprise as the heat of his hand seeped through the material of my pants, warming the skin they kept hidden as he traced along my thigh and hip. Part of me couldn't believe that he'd made such a move and the other part that quickly saw his arrogant smirk wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Jayden's growl was furious, nearly loud enough to hear without being _'special'_.

"Nice knife." Murphy murmured, his voice husky. "Question is, where'd you get it?"

Hiding behind a mask of coyness and innocence, I tilted my head to the side and hummed quietly, trailing my fingers down his cloth covered chest while leaning in toward his body. The lean muscles underneath rippled on contact and his eyes followed the movement while his own fingers tightened their grip on my leg. I peeked up at him from under my lashes and flashed him a grin, ignoring Jayden's angry noises as he stepped closer.

"Now, now, didn't anyone ever teach you it's not nice to touch other people's things without asking?" I cooed.

He was shoved backward harshly in his distraction; knocking into the boy who had been standing behind him that was practically in a trance. Jayden's broad body was suddenly blocking mine, making it nearly impossible to see the teenagers in front of me as he practically trembled with anger.

"Keep your hands _off_ my sister!" He snarled, straining against the hand I'd placed on his shoulder.

Murphy backed up, his arms raised in surrender as his eyes darted to me and back again. Whatever retort he had was cut off by a deep voice, sharp and agitated, and I glanced over my shoulder to meet the fiery gaze of Bellamy yet again.

"If you're going to kill someone, it's probably best not to announce it." He snapped, shifting to stand closer to Jayden and I as he glared at the younger boy.

Murphy's eyes narrowed for a moment, but relaxed as he began to chuckle. "You're not a real member of the guard, are you?"

_Duh_.

Anyone could have told him that, even without his admission to borrowing it earlier in the ship. He just had this look about him, the complete opposite of someone who abides by the Ark's strictly enforced rules. Though he held confidence and control, he also held arrogance and smugness. Add to that the fact that he was alone and had no back up, it simply wouldn't make sense for him to be one single guard amongst a hundred delinquents. I snorted and rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest as I ignored the looks each of them shot me.

"No." He denied, arching an eyebrow and tilting his head. "The real guard will be here soon, unless we stop it. You don't actually think that they're going to forgive your crimes, do you?"

His dark eyes turned toward me, traveling over my body and igniting it in tingles before Jayden cleared his throat, directing his attention toward him as he too crossed his arms over his chest.

"Or that they will let you and your sister walk free? No longer keep you locked up for whatever they have planned?"

I bit my lip, shifting anxiously and knocking into my brother in the process. His face was set in stone but I could easily see the concern and even fear hidden in his eyes.

We had _just_ been cut loose, taken our first breaths of pure, non-synthetic oxygen.

We weren't stuck behind a locked door, living in stark white rooms with the threat of being injected, poked, and prodded constantly looming in our minds.

We weren't going back to that. Not _willingly_, at least.

Bellamy nodded knowingly, and then shook his head. "And even if they do, then what? Guys like us-"

"Ahem!" I cut in, narrowing my eyes.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, gesturing toward me before continuing on sarcastically. "Guys _and girls_ like us...what? We become model citizens now? Get jobs? If we're lucky, maybe pick up their trash?"

Jayden's eyes flickered to mine and my lips curved up in a thin smile.

We would run.

It's something we were good at.

The boy next to Murphy made an angry sound in the back of his throat, knocking into his friend's shoulder as he stepped closer and lifted his arms before he snapped. "You got a point?

"No. I got a question."

Bellamy's voice had deepened, taking on darker and more commanding tones that once again left a tickling sensation down my spine. My eyes fluttered involuntarily and I shivered, ignoring when Jayden turned to me in concern and the man himself eyed me with veiled curiosity.

"They locked you up," He continued, staring at us. "Dumped you down here, like lab rats to _die_."

I flinched into Jayden's side and his arm curled around my waist, squeezing.

"So why are you helping them?"

"The _hell_ we are!" The other boy spat, looking angrier by the minute.

Bellamy smirked. "You're wearing those bracelets, aren't you? Right now, those things are telling them whether or not it's safe to follow."

I glanced down at the two inch band of steel and plastic that encircled my wrist, pushing my jacket sleeve up to get a better look at it. A few lights blinked on it, their green flickers timed rhythmically, and as I twisted it around to get a better look a sharp pain shot through my wrist and arm. I hissed out a breath, releasing the band when I remembered the sensation of it being cuffed on, how the six different needles had pierced my skin just like any other day, sinking deep into muscle and tissue.

It was silent in our little group, and I looked up to see them all staring at me and the band on my arm, their eyes tracing the single drop of blood that stained my skin as it ran down my arm. Murphy's eyes narrowed and flickered up to mine, gauging my expression before he sniffed and nodded, brushing the light brown hair from his eyes.

"Okay. You said we could stop it." He repeated, turning to face Bellamy. "How?"

Bellamy tilted his head after his eyes left my skin, a smirk growing across his lips. "Take them off."

* * *

><p>"They're going to think we're all dead." I muttered, walking back and forth.<p>

Jayden remained stoic and silent, lounging on a larger boulder off to my right as he alternated between watching me pace and slowly carving a piece of wood he had picked up. Without a word to Bellamy and his groupies, Jayden had secured a hand around my elbow and pulled me after him, leading us away from the group of teenagers and into the trees after the conversation had ended. He didn't stop until he pushed aside a large, bushy branch to reveal one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

A waterfall.

It flowed over the cliff's edge some fifty feet above us and pooled together in a swimming hole that looked deep enough to submerge yourself in toward the middle. The water rippled at the rocky shore, a clear and crystalline greenish blue that had me staring at it in open-mouthed awe and wonder.

Until Bellamy's last words crashed back into my constantly running mind, and I began to analyze the implications and consequences they left behind.

There were the Pro's.

No wristbands meant no more dropships. That meant no more worrying of being recaptured, no loss of the freedom we had just gained for the first time in our lives. No going back to only seeing a handful of doctors, scientists, and the guard who had practically raised us. No being used for whatever the Ark had up its dirty sleeve of secrets.

It was just us.

Then, there were the Con's.

No people also meant that the three people left on the Ark we actually liked, who had become like guardians and family, wouldn't be coming down to Earth. No Kaleb, no Abby (even _with_ her godawful daughter)…no Marty. And, it would mean _it was just us_.

If there came a time we desperately needed help, which was more likely than not, there wouldn't be anyone to get it from.

We would be all on our own.

"They'll think we're dead," I whispered, biting down on my lip. "_Dead_, dead. Kaleb, Abby, and Marty. He said he would try to get here, as soon as he could."

Jayden was still silent, but I could practically feel him brooding.

"If they come down here, we're going to have to run."

My eyes darted upward, catching their mirror image in my brother's gaze who sat in the same place he had settled himself in an hour or so before. He remained still, his eyes unblinking as he watched me.

"You know it's true Ari, at one point or another, we would have to leave."

Dragging my fingers through my hair, I looked away to the water. "We're too valuable to let go."

Humming in agreement, he jumped down the fifteen foot drop from the rock to the ground easily, landing on the balls of his feet and springing back up without so much as a wobble or misstep. He slowly stepped forward to me, circling my shoulders in a hug that he rarely gave unless we were entirely alone. He couldn't afford to be seen as weak in front of the reflective glass. He was the protector, the Alpha of the group, the one who watched out for us.

"_Especially_ down here."

It was quiet again as we stood there, his silent comfort and my whirlwind mind trying to figure out rather or not we would be removing our wristbands with the mob that Bellamy would no doubt form. Jayden had already expressed his worry over the dark eyed brunette, telling me that within a few hours, or at the most a couple of days, chaos and anarchy would rule the group. They had all been suppressed and restricted by the Ark too long, punished with imprisonment or death for things as simple and sad as trying to find or even share extra food to eat. It wouldn't take long for a group of teenagers to spiral into mayhem.

…_Stay alive Red, you have to stay alive…_

I squeezed my eyes shut, finding the mental image of Marty and his intense blue eyes staring back at me there, imploring me to find a way to survive.

Would going along with Bellamy's plan keep us alive?

Or would it be a one-way ticket to death?

"Do you hear that?" Jayden murmured, releasing me as he stood straight and glanced back the way we had come.

Yelling, shouting, cries of excitement…something that sounded similar to the drum beats we had heard on record, almost like tribal music…

"_WHO'S NEXT?!"_

"That's Blake. Rallying his troops. It's starting already, just like I said." Jayden muttered, taking a step back toward the ship.

"_What the hell are you doing?!"_

I tensed, glancing to Jayden to see him do the same as he let out something between a scoff of disbelief and a growl. It only confirmed what I thought I already knew.

"Son of a bitch!"

I took off at a sprint, my footsteps light, quick, and nearly soundless despite the fact that I was hurrying through the forest and didn't actually care if I made noise or not. I could faintly hear Jayden behind me, his even and deep pulls of oxygen while he leapt over fallen logs and brush with me to get us back faster. I could hear the laughter and jeering calls over the sounds of insects and the wind, making me run all the quicker to get there in time.

Before Wells Jaha got his ass handed to him.

"_Our_ _people?!_"

The voice was outraged, angered, barely controlled as he spoke and I wanted to smack Wells for being stupid enough to reference something like that.

"_My_ people, already are down!" Bellamy snapped. "THOSE people locked my people up. Those people _killed_ my mother for the crime of having a second child. Your father did that."

"My father didn't write the laws." Wells murmured, his voice still strong despite what he was faced with.

I could see them all perfectly now; the bonfire that rose up in the air with more than half the prisoners crowded around it, Murphy and his boys who were no doubt now at the command of Bellamy, the pile of broken and burned wristbands, and Bellamy himself, standing chest to chest with Wells. I paused at the edge of the shadows, Jayden pressed into my side as he too halted and assessed the situation in front of us.

Someone had to get between them, calm the confrontation down.

"No, but he enforced them. But not anymore, not _here_." Bellamy gritted out, pointing toward the ground.

And, it looked like that someone was going to be me.

"Ari! Get _back_ here!" Jayden snapped, reaching out to grip my jacket again.

I had already made my move, faster than anyone could have possibly seen I squeezed myself between the two males with my back facing Wells and my eyes centered on the deep brown ones that were now staring down at me with a slight bit of shock before it flickered away, masked once more. Without thinking it through I pressed a palm to the older boy's chest, trying my best to ignore the tingles that came as a result of the contact, and pushed gently but strongly in an effort to make him back away. It worked, and I followed his retreat, keeping my eyes on his and my hand tight against his cloth covered skin. Another hand grappled at my back and then my free hand when they couldn't get a grip, trying to yank me backward as I stepped away from them.

I shook him off.

"_Dammit_ Red, what are you doing!" Wells spluttered. "Get back over here!"

Shaking my head, I nearly groaned in exasperation. "Do you seriously not know when to shut up? In what way did you see _any_ of this going well?"

I glanced over my shoulder at him, my eyes reprimanding and my lips twisted into a disapproving frown. Jayden had stepped out from the shadows as well, and I noticed with a little amusement that those around where he'd appeared from were either catching their breath from fright or edging around the crowd to a space farther from him.

He looked pretty intimidating in the firelight, what with his shining eyes, dark scowl, and his hand resting on the hilt of the knife strapped to his belt.

Touchy.

"I was just trying to do what was best for the Ark!" He defended himself, looking at me incredulously.

My head shaking, I flickered my gaze to those around us before speaking again. "You picked a crowd of teenagers who have lost the lives of family, friends, and even themselves for some ridiculous reasons. It's the wrong time to be discussing what's best for the Ark, Wells."

I felt bad, I understood what he was trying to do, really I did.

But he'd get no sympathy from those gathered here.

"She's right."

My breath hitched when the chest underneath my palm rumbled, expanding and contracting quickly in an attempt to reign in his anger, though the dark and commanding tone of Bellamy's voice still displayed his contempt for the Ark and their ways. I couldn't really blame him either; where Wells was trying to do what he thought was right, Bellamy was protecting the little bit of family he had left. It didn't slip by me that Jayden would no doubt do the same thing.

That even _I_ might do the exact same thing.

"Here, there are no laws!" He spoke, his voice rising as it got stronger. "Here, we do _whatever_ the hell we want, _whenever_ the hell we want!"

My eyes darted to Jayden's, a knowing look passing between us.

Chaos. Disorder. Rebellion.

"Now, you don't have to like it Wells." Bellamy quieted, pushing against me and forcing me to take a step back so he could get closer, even though his new grip on my arm kept me between them. "You can even try to stop it, or change it…kill me."

My eyes widened, and I cleared my throat. "How about we don't?"

The comment was the source of laughter, chuckles moving throughout the crowd as they glanced at the girl sandwiched between two boys who were each nearly a foot taller than her. I knew what they saw, what they thought despite the uneasiness they felt after our appearance and Clarke's words. I _looked_ fragile, nonthreatening, like it wouldn't be much of a challenge to go up against me. But I wasn't.

It was a deadly, little secret.

"Whatever the hell we want!"

I broke my gaze with the newly rising leader and looked behind me as the crowd started to cheer, chanting the sentence like a war cry through the night. Wells looked upset, confused, even distraught as he looked around him and then back down at me. I tossed my head to the side, motioning for him to get away from the growing, unstable mob.

Before he got caught in something he couldn't stop.

"Get out of here Wells." I murmured.

"I'm not leaving you here with _him_." He snapped, his gaze hard where it landed on Bellamy's grip on my arm.

My hand had long since fallen from his chest, but his fingers were still wrapped around my elbow, keeping it bent at a ninety degree angle while he stared back at the Chancellor's son, his gaze daring him to make a move. Rather to kill him as he had said or force him to let me go, I wasn't sure.

"I can take care of myself Wells, you _know_ that." I hissed, angry now that he dared to act like he hadn't left me behind before. "Jayden, get him out of this shit."

My brother stared down at me for a few moments, silent words passing between us without ever making a sound. He narrowed his eyes at the hand on my arm before he snatched up Wells by the upper arm and, ignoring his protests, drug him out of the middle of the horde of prisoners. I watched them go, the chanting and singing around me drowning out their footsteps, until I knew that Jayden had gotten him far enough away from the mess he'd helped make. I sighed then, dragging my fingers through the length of my hair as my body relaxed from the tenseness I'd adopted once throwing myself between the two of them.

"Why?"

My head snapped up so quickly I thought I heard something pop, and I was surprised to see that I had relaxed so completely with Bellamy still standing right there, a smirk on his face while he gazed out at his people before he turned his dark and curious expression down to me.

It was a bit disconcerting.

Something in me instinctively trusted him, while my mind was still screaming that the notion was laughably ridiculous.

"Why what?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Why do you _still_ defend him? Why do you still help him, after he's obviously done something?" Bellamy asked, his grip tightening ever so slightly.

It was a good question, one that was justified.

And as I tried to piece together something to say, an enormous, ground-shaking rumble ripped through the air as the darkness of the sky lit up, a brilliant white, and the heavens exploded. Rain, actual rain in torrents driven by the increased wind were suddenly spilling down upon us and soaking through our clothes. I had wondered what the smell was before, what it meant when the pressure had been fluctuating so rapidly.

Storms were brewing.

I tipped my head back, letting the water hit my face and land on my tongue as I tasted the brisk freshness of it, ignoring those who spun around in the mud and were screaming back and forth with each other. I simply breathed in the clean smell of the Earth recycling its water supply freely, never being rationed at the fear of not having enough. It splashed against my skin in cool droplets before trailing downward, looking to rejoin the Earth once more. When I finally cracked my eyes open again, tiny drops of water clinging to my lashes, I found Bellamy's eyes already on me.

A darker, heated brown than before.

Swallowing thickly, I licked my lips, ignoring the sudden fire in my body as I noticed his eyes trace the movement and when his eyes traveled further down to the material which clung even tighter to my skin now that it was soaked through. He was close to me, too close to me, steam drifting up from his exposed and heated skin where the cool droplets hit him. I tried not to think about his fingers burning into my arm, how the tanned olive skin of his arm contrasted so nicely with mine, how part of me that had never been awoken before wanted nothing more than to throw myself at the boy whose voice sounded like sin wrapped up in velvet and tied with a pretty bow.

"Because even though he abandoned me, I won't abandon him."


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Note:** Chapter Five! This one is longgg. Like over 6,500 words I believe! It's got a bit of general POV and our main OC's POV in it, as well as a brief flashback. Feeding you pieces of the twin's past and what was done to them at a time ;)  
>I hope everyone is enjoying it and special thanks to all of you who have started followingfavorited the story! You guys are so awesome!

_***Notice!-**_ I've moved Review Responses to the bottom of the update. I'm getting all chatty in my messages back and I know some of you just want to get to the chapter! ;)

Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Five<strong>_

* * *

><p>Annoyance.<p>

_That_ is what the seventeen year-old felt as she picked her way through the forest.

It hadn't taken long to spring up within her after leaving the dropsight, trekking after the diverse band of teenagers as they sought Mount Weather. It wasn't really who she was paired with, aside from one in particular, as much as it was simply being around a large group of teenagers who laughed, joked, and tried their best to include her. Siran had never been around many people at one time, with parents that she could barely remember and a childhood spent in the foster pods on the Ark for children who had no one, just barely scraping by. It wasn't until she had been thrown in the Skybox for stealing extra rations that her life really changed. Her blood was processed, recorded, matched necessary traits and declared a potential success.

And she gained a family.

A sister, a brother, a small handful of people who pledged themselves to look after the Ghosts of the Ark.

Sick in its own way, considering what she and her new family were forced to endure.

Though, she missed out on the greater horrors, from what Dr. Abigail Griffin had explained to her. Jayden and Arianwyn rarely spoke of times before Abby, before Kaleb, but Siran had heard the older girl's nightmares, had seen the boy who could be menacing and dangerous crack and become a giant teddy bear. It had taken some time but they had grown to be that way with her as well, opening their arms and bringing her in to the fold. They were a unit, a family, a pack.

And that was _exactly_ why she had agreed with Octavia and practically forced her adoptive siblings to allow her to leave their sides.

It was why she was doing her damnedest to ignore Clarke Griffin's incessant whining, her snooty distrust when it came to treating Octavia's injured leg even when the girl said she wanted _Siran's_ help instead, and her judgmental side looks that she probably thought were unnoticeable.

Ha. Right.

The toss up came between putting up with the blonde's presence and the infuriating familiarity that kept niggling at the edge of her conscious every time she looked up and caught a pair of warm brown eyes watching her.

Finn.

She could swear she knew him; that she had seen him before.

There was something about him; the features and planes of his face, the expressions she sometimes glimpsed flashing across his face, the way that he watched her sometimes, almost as if he was overseeing, guiding, protecting. It was all so familiar and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. The inability to place him was an agitating experience, so much so that she vaguely contemplated pulling on the blonde waves that spilled down her shoulders. Even though the hair Arianwyn had nicknamed her for had done nothing to her.

"_It's so bouncy, so bright…we should call you Goldilocks!"_

She had been fourteen at the time, had never been given a nickname before, and the girl she'd come to think of as a sister had been so excited about the prospect of giving her a fairytale name to match theirs; she couldn't have turned it down if she wanted to.

And secretly, she didn't.

Want to, that is.

Once more, the thought of her siblings brought her back around and reminded her why she was doing this, why she had agreed to the trip across the forest in the first place. Of the three of them, she was the most trained in both medicine and pharmaceuticals. While Arianwyn could pass for a nurse and Jayden could handle what needed to be done in a pinch, it was Siran who had followed Abby around whenever she was given the chance.

If there was one of them that was going to be able to fully judge the resources available to them on this planet for medicinal needs, it was her.

And they needed it.

They had been sent down with limited supplies, though more than anyone else, but she knew they would need to find something that could handle the strain they would be under. That's why she was sketching and detailing in her journal as they walked, despite Clarke's annoyance and Finn's insistence to hold back even though she assured him she wouldn't get lost if they traveled ahead a ways. It was why she was collecting multiple specimens; everything from flowers, to herbs, to whole plants that she stored in her bag.

The suppressors they had been sent down with would only last so long.

She didn't want to think of what they could be capable of if their genetic mutations went entirely unchecked.

It could get bloody, fast.

_And Clarke Griffin would probably be the first to go, Abby's daughter or not…_She thought to herself, her lips twitching upward in her late night humor to resemble a conniving smirk.

"Well there's the scariest grin I've ever witnessed. I doubt I'd want to know what you're thinking."

She glanced up into those warm brown eyes again, her eyes flitting over his face in habit of trying to place him before she gave up and graced him with a real smile, her teeth flashing in the luminescent glow of the grove of trees they'd settled in.

"No, I don't suppose you would." Siran laughed quietly, glancing back down at her notebook.

She had seen Finn, been paying extra attention since he held a mystery she was trying to solve, and she hadn't missed the way he gravitated toward Clarke, the way he looked at her when she wasn't paying attention, the way he continuously tried to make her smile and laugh regardless of her hardass attitude. How someone who seemed so carefree and spirited like him could be so smitten over someone that seemed to have a pole permanently lodged up her ass, Siran didn't have a clue.

But, to each their own.

Finn grinned back at her, a slow charming smile that no doubt won the hearts of many, before his eyes flickered back down to the notebook in her hands. She had made no secret of what she was doing and she knew they had been curious, but no one had taken the time to ask. Octavia simply yanked the thing out of her hands to get a glimpse at it the before they settled down for the night, then nodded approvingly and snuggled down into the plushy vegetation to sleep, cuddling into Siran's side.

Apparently her connection with Arianwyn made her feel a part of their fold, despite never having even met Jayden and Siran, and she was surprisingly okay with it.

"So what's in the book sweetheart?" He finally asked, a teasing look in his eyes.

She rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless, and held the book where he could see it.

"It's for reference. We have no idea how long we're going to be here without the Ark's medical, or if this Mount Weather will even have the supplies the Chancellor claimed. It has been ninety-seven years after all." Siran mused, finishing the shading on a diagram.

"And what's that?" Finn asked, obviously intrigued.

He pointed to the picture she had just finished, the leafy plant with its tiny florets that ranged in colors from a whitish gray to lavender. She had already broken off multiple stems and even dug out a whole plant with the hope of replanting closer to the dropship once they returned. Finn's eyes were puzzled as he looked at it, and she bent to snap off a stem and tickle it under his nose. He snorted, batting at the offending plant before taking it from her as she giggled.

"It's catnip." Siran explained, securing the supplies safely in her bag. "It can be used to reduce fever and treat cold symptoms if taken orally by eating or tea. It could even help stop bleeding and swelling if I mixed it into a paste."

"Seriously?" Finn asked, glancing at the plant in his hand doubtfully.

Siran grinned, giving him a quick nod as they began to walk back toward the others again, following Clarke's angry trail after she had stomped off when Siran had dropped to her knees beside the plant and Finn had stopped to watch her. The teenager in front of her looked at her for a moment, his brown eyes intense and calculating, prompting her mask of indifference to fall back into place as a defense mechanism. She didn't like the way he looked at her, like he already knew her secrets.

Especially when she still hadn't figured out _why_ she thought she knew him.

"Where did you learn all of this anyway?" He asked, shoving his hands deep in his pockets as he took up a place by her side.

She pursed her lips, glancing ahead at the sleeping group of teenagers before she answered him in a lower voice. No one had commented on Clarke's words earlier in the day, outing them as the Ark's nifty handiwork and part-time science experiments. Siran wanted to keep it that way, at least until she stood with her fellow _'ghosts'_ by her side.

"Training." She muttered, refusing to look at him.

Surprisingly, the boy only nodded before grasping her by the hand and pulling her along.

And for once, she didn't pull away.

* * *

><p><em>…11 years previously…<em>

_"How in the hell did this happen?!"_

_He was angry. So very angry. The emotion wasn't one he was a stranger to; he spent most of his time being angry or some variation of it alongside his arrogance and penchant for a pessimistic reality. He had been angry for a long time, ever since he had lost her._

_"They're eight years old for Christ's sake!"_

_He was yelling, he knew. The sound of his voice was booming and threatening, bouncing off of the soundproof walls of the observation room while his eyes, dark and unbelieving, remained glued to the one-way glass in front of him that allowed them visibility into the stark white room for subject testing._

_There were no words to describe what it held._

_Red._

_Hues of red that ranged from bright and newly oxidized to a deep, sluggish crimson stained the once pristine whiteness. The tiles of the floor, the padded walling, it had all been sullied with the colors. They were splashed and spattered. It was the depiction of the most unholy mess he had ever seen in his entire life._

_"There have been some…unanticipated consequences." The cool, monotone voice remarked from next to him, gazing impassively at the sight in front of him._

_He nearly grabbed the man around the throat and shook him. As it was, his hands trembled with restrained fury as he continued to stare._

_"Unanticipated?!" He shouted, waving a hand back toward the many computers in the room. "You are not paid to serve me unanticipated results! You were not handpicked, of all the possibilities, to not anticipate their reactions to treatment!"_

_Cool, unfazed eyes met his angry ones and a smirk twisted lips sinisterly._

_"No, I am paid to continue without questioning morals, humanity, and a being's rights. I think, you will come to find, I do my job thoroughly."_

_He snapped his mouth shut, his teeth gritting together as his knuckles turned white._

_The man was right; he had been picked for a reason and had acted accordingly. Still though, the physical manifestation of consequences brought on by tampering with and mutating genes was hard to stomach. Damn near impossible, really. He glanced again at the room, his eyes falling on the two bodies that lay there, twisted at unnatural angles and he grimaced. Their guns had been no help, their cries and pleas for mercy went unchecked. They had been destroyed, consumed by a ravenous anger that left blood spilt and the reflective glass cracked in its wake. The chest cavity of one had been punctured, the heart left abandoned on the floor as blood pooled around it. The others throat was practically ripped out, its head barely remained attached to its body._

_They'd been torn apart._

_"What can be done." He snapped._

_Bracing his forehead against the palm of his hand, he tried to suck in deep breaths of synthetic air, hoping to quell the nausea in his stomach and prayed the shaking of his hands went unnoticed while also trying to quiet the hint of fear that began in the shadows of his mind._

_"I already have a team working on something," The scientist mused, entirely unaffected despite the brutality he'd witnessed. "A suppressor of sorts, acting like a tranquilizer though it will not render the user unconscious."_

_He nodded after a moment of silence, looking up to indicate with his hands. "And it will soothe this…this…"_

_"Bloodlust? Yes."_

_They were silent a moment more before he asked the question he thought most imperative, considering.  
>"And until then? What do we do?"<em>

_"Try not to anger them."_

_He stared at the shorter man incredulously, who simply shrugged and walked back to the desk of equipment, settling himself in his chair to continue his work. He swallowed hard; more than ready to leave the room and try his best to forget what he had been privy to after they had tried to provoke a reaction from them._

_But he had to look, one last time._

_They stood there, hand in hand, their faces impassive and set with looks of innocence as they whispered quietly to each other in the corner of the room. Their features had returned to normal and their eyes were shining a silvery green once more. The white cleanliness of their clothes was long gone, now dyed red with blood. It soaked through his pants and her gown, dripped down their arms from shoulder to fingertip, and stained the corners of their mouths and chin. He didn't think he would ever forget the way they moved in tandem, protecting one another from the threats that had been presented to them as they destroyed anything and everything that stood against them._

_No, the memory would go on to haunt him in his sleep._

_Their sharpened teeth, their brute strength._

_Those eerie, pulsing, golden eyes._

_"What have I done?"_

* * *

><p>I had only wanted a few minutes to myself.<p>

Somehow I'd convinced Jayden I would be safe to travel back to the swimming hole he had taken me to considering it was off in a direction no other person had gone in. I needed to cool down, to calm the fire burning in my blood after letting myself get much too close to Bellamy after his confrontation with Wells. My entire body was still heated, flushed as I leaned back in the chilled water and remembered the way his eyes had changed from deep brown to a swirling, molten chocolate brown as he watched me in the rain, his shirt clinging to defined muscles as the water soaked through it, the steam that rose from his body as he let his eyes wander over mine.

"Stop it." I hissed aloud, ducking underneath the water.

There was silence there.

My own little oasis away from reality.

I spent more time than I should have, no doubt it wouldn't take much longer and Jayden would come traipsing through the woods looking for me. My skin was chilled as I climbed from the water, enjoying the ticklish sensation of it running down my skin before I patted myself dry with the shirt I'd been wearing and slipped the black bra, long sleeve shirt, and shorts on, the material just as clingy as the others. Gathering up my pile of used clothes, I began the trek back to the ship, wondering what Jayden had worked out for sleeping arrangements while I'd been gone. Given it was our first night, I had a feeling we might be sleeping in the free air.

And that's when I noticed, something wasn't quite right.

It was quiet.

_Too_ quiet.

The noise of the other prisoners had died down as most went to sleep after the rain, no doubt tired out from the excitement of the day. But I'd grown used to that, and the quiet chirps and buzzing of insects and other small animals had taken its place and become louder than usual. What had become a constant hum while I'd been bathing had grown almost silent, as if a predator was lurking. Jayden was fine; I knew that without even having to set eyes on him, it was through the bond we shared. Anytime one of us was distressed, we could feel it through the other. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and my eyes flickered over to the crest of the hill I'd last seen Wells spread out on for the night.

Only…he wasn't there.

I froze, quickly searching the faces left sleeping around the fire and in different patches of grass, easily finding both Bellamy and Murphy gone as well, along with a couple of faces I didn't have names for yet.

He was in trouble. _Again_.

Couldn't I get a break?

I didn't stick around to call out for Jayden to come with me, I was already way behind them and who knew what they were doing to the guy. Moving fast, I took off in the direction his scent led, passing by camp in the shadows without a single sound and moving toward the Northeast. Though I could see perfectly in the dark, the shadows and brush made excellent places to hide, so I dropped my clothing at the bottom of a tree before I scrambled up it and took off again, balancing myself on the thick branches that intertwined.

It didn't take long to find them, they made more noise than they thought.

Especially with Wells yelling like that.

Panic surged through my veins as flickers of worst case scenarios flashed through my mind. They were going to kill him. Or beat him for his connection to his father. Or something equally as horrible.

I was too late.

Granted, he wasn't _actually_ dead.

It was just his wristband that lay broken and mangled on the ground, stomped to pieces as he fell back on his knees down the gravel slope in front of me, coughing from the air being knocked out of his lungs no doubt. He was bruised maybe, but there was no lasting damage.

And me?

Well, I was furious.

Desperately, I tried to hold back the flashing of my eyes as my lip curled back over my teeth and I watched from above, still balanced on another branch I had run across. I was hovering right over them and no one was any wiser as the group of boys celebrated, dolling out hand slaps while Bellamy looked on from the side, a smug and triumphant look on his face. Wells was still collapsed a little behind where I'd stopped, and I could smell the blood that had escaped from the puncture wounds the needles left behind after being torn out. The scent only made me angrier and a protective growl started up within my chest, softly vibrating there. It was over, they'd gotten what they wanted.

That wasn't going to stop me though.

Their laughter died the second I hit the ground.

With little to no sound, I swung myself down from the branch I was perched on, landing seamlessly on the balls of my feet in a crouch on the ground. Their celebration was cut off with a round of shocked curses and one of the unnamed boys even started choking on air, stumbling back away from me. I looked up from the ground where I'd landed between Murphy and Wells, slowly uncurling my body as I stretched to my full height. My eyes locked on the bright blues of the boy in front of me, his eyebrows arched high and his mouth slightly open in shock.

"Get back to camp Wells."

My voice was chilling, icy, and no one spoke.

I'm not entirely sure they were even breathing.

From the right I could feel Bellamy's gaze on me, burning my skin as I continued to ignore him and the body heat that radiated from Wells where he stood frozen behind me. I didn't turn, didn't look to see whatever could be found on their faces after my spontaneous arrival. I kept my eyes locked on the boy in front of me, taking in the way Murphy's eyes cut to Bellamy's before his face changed, morphing into a picture of cockiness before his eyes focused on me again.

"Come with me." Wells choked out, stepping toward me and holding out his hand.

Carefully gauging those in front of me, I chanced a look back at him. His dark eyes met mine, pleading with me to let this go and walk with him back to camp where my brother was, where there was no fight.

I tightened my jaw and shook my head, turning to face forward again.

"Red, I don't think-"

"NOW, Wells." I snapped, ignoring the snickers that broke out around us. "Just go back, _please_."

He let out a frustrated sigh, no doubt flexing his fists as he continued to ignore the comments coming from those who were stupid enough to speak, and turned to make his way back through the gravel and dirt of the creek bed we were standing in. I could feel the determination rolling off of him in waves and narrowed my eyes, turning to call after him to keep him from doing what I knew he would.

"And leave my brother out of this."

"Red!"

"I mean it Wells! Don't you say a word to him!" I called, nearly hissing at the end of my sentence.

We waited until he was gone, until his footsteps were faint to my ears, and not once did I blink in my staring contest. I still hadn't spared Bellamy a look, something I was pretty sure was irritating him if his fists curling and uncurling were any indication. When he'd gone far enough I relaxed my posture slightly and took a few deep breaths, nearly laughing when I noticed Murphy eyeing me warily as I ran my tongue out over my lip. I watched with playful amusement as he tensed, his muscles tightening with awareness.

That coy look spread across my face again, and I peered up through my lashes.

"I told you to leave him be…" I murmured, glancing toward Bellamy and back again. "Both of you."

Bellamy had come closer, his eyes fiery and his mouth open to speak, but he was cut off before he got the chance as Murphy stepped closer, his fingers sifting through his hair while he looked down at me with a smirk on his face.

"And what makes you think we'd listen to anything you say…_Little Red_." He practically purred the nickname, his eyes traveling down my body and back up again.

It was my turn for my lips to quirk upward in a smirk, though mine was far from arrogant or reassuring. Predatory maybe, or even a tad bit malicious as it curled, the white of my teeth flashing in the dark. I advanced one step toward him as he had me, leaving only about a foot of space between us as my eyes held his, neither of us blinking.

"Because," I whispered, like I was sharing a secret. "That was your _only_ warning."

He had no chance.

I didn't let a second pass by after I'd spoken before I lunged forward, my fist connecting with the left side of his ribs and his right cheek before he even figured out what was happening. He let out an angered yell and doubled over, stumbling backward as I looked on, grasping at his side and his face as he cursed. There were shouts and yells from around us as the other boys tried to step in, to come to his aid, but Bellamy's order to get back to camp roared through the night and they were forced to go, leaving just the three of us behind.

I ignored them, concentrating on my prey in front of me as my mind centered on one thing; fighting.

"You _bitch_!" Murphy snarled, his head whipping up to glare at me.

I giggled quietly as I circled him, never taking my eyes off of him as I calculated his moves. It died though when he brushed his hair back, his hand grazing his face…and smearing blood across his cheek.

Blood.

I'd drawn blood.

The crimson color stained his skin and I felt like my entire world stopped.

Everything was fuzzy, doused in a red haze and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his face. My heart pounded in my chest, my breathing hitched and restarted rapidly as adrenaline pooled in my veins. All of my senses spiked, my instincts running hot while my coherent thought became dim, and a small part of me was screaming at myself to stop, to pull back from the feeling that was taking over everything. I was no longer in a controlled environment where it could be handled properly, where they could keep me from hurting someone.

This was Earth…a place I'd never experienced this.

Bloodlust.

And it was strong.

_Look at it there…oozing down his cheek and dripping over his neck…staining the collar of his shirt…right there for the taking...  
><em>

So when he let out an inhuman noise and lunged for me, I let him.

Despite Bellamy's yell for him to stop, Murphy was on me in a few quick steps and I was vaguely surprised at his movement given the typical upbringing on the Ark. His lean body plowed into mine and I offered no resistance, letting him throw us to the ground. The air in my lungs left in a huff and when I sucked oxygen back in, the scent of his blood washed over me, leaving me nearly shivering underneath him. I reveled in the weight of him pinning me to the ground, the heat transferring from his skin to mine, the sound and feel of his heart beating against his chest and his blood thrumming through his veins.

It was so close.

_Right there_.

All I had to do was lean into him, that special crook between his neck and his shoulder where the artery ran. I could run my tongue along it, feel the blood moving underneath the skin…and sink my teeth into him. I leaned in to do it, fighting against the part of me that was demanding I stop, that I leave his neck untouched. My instincts snarled, pushing back against the notion of letting him go, but a sliver of white hot pain broke through my madness.

His knife had pierced the skin of my shoulder.

And just like that, it was Murphy who was pinned to the Earth.

I'd rolled us easily, my legs squeezing painfully into his sides to keep him controlled underneath my own body as my hands gripped his wrists, pressing them down into the gravel beneath us. He growled, bucked and writhed, but there was really no point in struggling because I wasn't letting go any time soon. The superficial cut on his jaw had continued to bleed, the crimson fluid now smeared over his sculpted cheek, and I fought back the urge to let my inner beast forward, keeping the flashing of my eyes held off by a tiny thread. His eyes were on mine, blazing and furious while I continued to straddle his abdomen, tilting my head to the side as I stared and his muscles rippled under me pleasantly.

He nearly snorted, raging from his position.

I grinned down at him, though by the way he stiffened I'm sure it was _far_ from reassuring.

His eyes were wide as he froze underneath me and I was momentarily confused, until I rocked forward to settle my weight over his, and I suddenly understood his predicament.

My grin widened, a mischievous tint to the smile.

He bucked underneath me, his hips thrusting upward involuntarily, and a small part of me realized my influence was feeding his. He struggled for control and I let out a snarl, my eyes narrowing as I glared down at him, though I softened as my eyes got caught and I stared at the blood on his face again. Without thinking I released one of his hands, the other still held tightly in my grip. My free fingers trailed across his cheek, spanning over his jaw and ignoring how he winced when they crossed over the place where my fist had split his skin open.

Staining my skin crimson with his blood.

I bit my lip before licking it, straining to keep myself from tracing the same pattern with my tongue instead. His hand that I'd let go gripped my hip tightly, no doubt leaving behind bruises that would be healed by tomorrow as he pushed me down harder onto his body. He let out a guttural noise when I rocked forward again and I squeezed my legs down on his sides in warning, silently demanding that he hold still, the darker side of me enjoying when he grunted with pain. His hand clamped down on mine, his nails digging in to my skin as his jaw clenched.

It was so warm…

Sticky on my fingers.

_More…I need more…_

It kept dripping down his cheek, over his jaw, and my body shuddered in pleasure from where I sat on top of him as I rubbed my fingers together, spreading the viscous liquid. I had no control. My head dropped back on its own, my eyes fluttering closed as I shivered and my body went lax against him, a seductive hum echoing in my throat. My chest heaved with rapid breaths, matching the expanding and contracting of his lungs beneath me from the exertion of the fight and now the bloodlust that swirled potently through my veins.

His blood. I was going to take it all, every single drop…

And then it was gone.

I gasped loudly as thickly muscled arms banded themselves around my midsection, roughly yanking me off of Murphy and slamming me into a broad, heated chest hard enough that the breath in my lungs was forced out of them.

_Bellamy_.

I didn't even have to look in order to know it was him that had ripped me from my place and the delightful state of being I'd submerged myself in, it was just instinctive.

His own chest was rising and falling quickly, shuddering against my back and his grip was extremely tight, almost painful. Like he knew I could break out of it if I really wanted. I struggled slightly and he growled angrily at me, causing me to freeze in surprise. I glanced down to see his skin, tanned and freckled standing out against mine where it had been left bare, the band of skin between my shorts and my shirt, after washing. It was mesmerizing, beautiful in its own way, and I couldn't make myself look away from it as the bloodlust seemed to settle inside of me.

Fading back into the background once more.

My body relaxed into his, going limp in his hold where I was lifted a few inches from the ground and he supported the weight of me without loosening his grip as one arm settled beneath my bust and the other spanned my hips.

"Murphy!" He growled, his breath hot on my ear and neck even from his position towering above me. "Get back to camp!"

I shivered…and my eyes flew wide open after I'd closed them unknowingly when he pressed me further into his body, practically curling his own around me.

"Bellamy-" Murphy rasped, his voice husky as he took a step closer, his eyes set on me.

"_NOW_!" Bellamy snarled, the sound rumbling through his chest.

Threatening.

The other boy glanced once more at me silently, his bright blues darkened and hooded with the lust I'd pushed onto him before he took a few steps back and flashed me a lecherous grin that promised of things to come. With that, he spun on his heel and scaled the rocky hill, disappearing back into the trees and leaving Bellamy and I alone in the darkness. His body still pressed into mine at every space possible, heating my exposed skin with his own as his fingers dug into my hips and side. We stood that way in silence, saying nothing as our panting breaths filled our ears, until he spun me around and roughly grabbed my arms.

"What the _fuck_ was that?!" He growled, his eyes smoldering as they drilled into mine.

I opened my mouth, and then shut it again.

How could I explain what had just happened?

What could I do to make him understand my reaction to spilling Murphy's blood? To explain why Murphy had gone from fighting against me to grabbing on to me tight enough to nearly break a normal girl's bones.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I smiled innocently, pushing my hair behind my ear.

Quickly, I spun around and began my own trip back toward camp and the tree I'd tossed my clothes under, hoping and praying that Bellamy would leave it at that and let me go. Unlikely. I picked up the pace, jogging between trees and jumping over fallen limbs as I tried to lose him, but I could still hear him hurrying after me. I bent to scoop up my clothes, intent on getting to the fire and out of the shadows so that he couldn't confront me.

And was promptly spun around and slammed back into the tree.

"Fuck!" I hissed, scowling up at him.

He smirked at me.

"Let me _go_ Bellamy!" I snapped, squirming in his grip. "If you don't, I swear to-"

He laughed, actually laughed before he looked back down at me, his dark eyes burning with intensity. "Not a chance in hell, _Little Red_." He cooed against my ear, close enough I could feel his lips on my skin.

The nickname had the complete opposite effect from before. Instead of anger pouring through my veins, with no warning I nearly melted against him. His breath was hot against my cool skin, his scent surrounded me, the fresh pine and natural sweat from chasing me forming a heady concoction. He towered over me, his chest crushing mine as he kept me pinned against the bark of the tree, one of his legs wedged between my thighs. I was already sensitive, on edge, and he wasn't helping.

_His heat…_

I could hardly breathe and yet I was almost panting, his breath mingling with mine from where he had leaned down in to me.

_His voice…_

"I won't even think of letting you go," He muttered; deep, husky, sensual. "Until you tell me what the hell that was back there."

_His body…_

The weight of him was crushing me, but it was such a wonderful ache. I needed more, craved more. I didn't know where this feeling had come from, I'd never felt anything like it before.

And then his lips were crashing down on mine.

The kiss was almost vicious, an aggressive fight between lips, tongue and teeth. He didn't slow, didn't ask for permission. Bellamy Blake took my lips with his so roughly, I could taste the blood where he bit down on my lower lip. I moaned loudly, nearly startling myself with the unknown sound, but his answering groan soothed me and he further caged me in.

My first kiss was brutal…and it perfectly reflected the animal inside me.

Hot hands grasped at the back of my thighs and then I was airborne, tossed up in the air and pressed back into the tree again as Bellamy stepped between my legs. I wrapped them tightly around his waist on instinct, a higher pitched keen escaping my throat when his hips ground into mine. I could _feel_ him there; hot, hard, throbbing. The blood was pounding through our veins, rushing to the surface, and it was the last thing on my mind as I sifted his unruly hair through my fingers, tugging on the thick locks and enjoying when he let out a guttural sound similar to a growl against my throat.

It _burned_ where he touched me, a sweet fire I'd happily die in.

One of his hands disappeared from my thigh and I let out a gasp when it snuck underneath my shirt, ripping my lips from his.

I swear there was fire in his eyes.

He didn't blink as he explored my skin, smoothing his rough fingertips over the flat expanse of my stomach. They drifted up toward my chest, hesitating for a moment at the cup of my bra as he peered down at me, almost daring me to protest.

But I didn't.

He groaned when he palmed my breast, squeezing the cream colored flesh there as his forehead rested against mine. His lips brushed over my eyes, my temple, my cheeks, all while I writhed against him and my fingernails dug harshly into his shoulder and side. I was tugging at the material covering his chest, burning with a need to feel his hot skin under mine as the breathiest sounds I'd ever heard spilt past my lips.

A branch snapped in the darkness.

Like ice cold water being poured down my spine, I froze.

It suddenly occurred to me _exactly_ what was happening. I was in the forest with a guy I barely knew, who I'd hardly spoken to and most of that was in fights to keep him from hurting my (_ex-?_)friend, and I was damn near ready to rip my clothes off for him. Before this happened I'd never even been kissed in my nineteen years of living, much less had sex, and that's exactly where this was heading. I doubted seriously that he had anything except one night on his mind.

"What?" He whispered, his voice so husky and soft I almost let it suck me back in. "What's wrong?"

I stared back into his eyes, their molten chocolate brown capturing all my attention after he had looked up, his eyes darting around the trees around us for potential threats. I let my body go slack, dropping down his and nearly crying out at the loss of his skin against mine.

"I have to go." I whispered back.

"_What!_" He nearly shouted, his open eyes morphing into a glare. "Why! Red-"

He didn't know anything about me.

Not really.

He didn't know that sometimes the nightmares kept me up; the screams from the labs, the screams from myself. He didn't know what I was capable of, what I could do, or what they had done to me. He didn't know that I'd had blood on my hands, that I had nearly lost control tonight.

He didn't know how dangerous I was, how deadly I could be.

He didn't know.

* * *

><p>John Murphy.<p>

People said he was a lot of things; arrogant, aggressive, angry. People described him in a lot of different ways too, ever since his father had been floated and he had gone off the rails, burying the memories with fights and harsh words. They said there was an animal inside of him, angry and rabid, that he wasn't fit for society anymore.

Most of it wasn't all that pleasant.

But one thing Murphy _wasn't_, was stupid.

He didn't know the first damn thing about anything concerning the _'Ghosts of the Ark'_ as the privileged little princess had so ominously put it, and he didn't pretend to. He'd never heard about them before in his life, never seen them before either. But he'd sure as hell seen her tonight.

The way she lurked in the darkness.

How lithe and precise her movements were; silent…predatory.

The way her eyes flashed a golden color as she looked down at him, like she wanted to devour him..._it was animalistic._

_She_ was animalistic.

And he wanted a taste.

* * *

><p><span><strong>*Review Responses!*<strong>

_*RainbowDragacornus-_ Holy Moly! Thank you so much! I've definitely considered it, but I always get so self conscious sometimes and worry about rather or not anything is good haha! Maybe I'll give my own stuff a try sometime! With readers like you who really enjoy my fics, it just might be possible ;)  
><em>*xXRoweenaJAugustinexX-<em> You read my mind! However did you do that?! I know, I'm definitely going to put a reunion there between Wells and Red, it's just not time yet. He and Jayden will never be the same probably because of what his sister went through with Wells' abandonment, but they can at least clear the air! Hopefully ;)  
><em>*BlackMoonWhiteSky-<em> You're entirely right! I really wanted a strong sibling bond between the two because The 100 face a lot of hard decisions on the ground. They may have differing opinions sometimes, and even fight a little, but I wanted a loyal duo who would still be there for each other regardless. Jayden is definitely all 'big brother bear', especially in the coming chapters. *waves back!*  
><em>*LettuceBFrank -<em> First, I adore your name! It made me smile. Second, yes they are twins and yes you will get more back story on them soon, I promise! I've just been feeding bits and pieces but the full explanation is coming soon, including what exactly they are. And I know! I adore Bellamy and I even have some moments where I like Clarke, but half the time I can't stand her. She seems like a hypocrite and like when her decision goes wrong she looks for someone else to blame. I just don't see her and Bellamy together really. But hey, that's just me! Thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy!


	7. Chapter Six

**Author's Note:** Chapter six is here! And chapter seven is almost done, I can't wait for that one to post ;)  
>That one is going to have some information that some of you have been awaiting, not all of it but quite a bit...so be excited! Haha! Hope you guys enjoy this! It's just under 5,000 words, whew! Responses at the bottom like usual if you want to check them out!<p>

*Want to meet The Ghosts? Check out the link on my profile!

Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Six<strong>_

* * *

><p>It was midmorning already, and I had yet to make eye contact with anyone.<p>

Much less the boys from the night before.

Once I had made it back to camp, it didn't take long for Bellamy to come storming back as well. I'd ignored him, busying myself climbing up on top of the dropship like Jayden wanted. He hadn't felt comfortable sleeping inside with anyone or outside on the open ground where we could easily be snuck up on and he wasn't able to start on shelter for us until today, hence the roof of the ship. My brother looked at me steadily with that unnerving gaze of his until I spilled, confessing that there had been a confrontation over Wells _yet again_.

I kept the kissing to myself.

His eyes had flashed golden when I told him that the haze had nearly taken me, that my control had nearly slipped.

It only got worse when his nose took him to my arm, the scent of my blood letting him know I'd been hurt, even though I was already healed. His jaw had tightened down, an inhuman growl rattling through his chest, and it had taken all my strength to keep him on the roof with me and not on the ground, slaughtering Murphy. He then spent twenty minutes deciding rather or not to hit me with a dose of suppressors, despite me telling him all I needed to do was sleep it off.

He finally listened.

And I turned out to be wrong.

I was jittery this morning, my muscles tight with un-expelled energy that was begging to be spent. I could hear everything, smell even more, and the ability to push it aside and concentrate was harder than usual. I wanted to take a run, to be out further in the trees gathering wood, logs, and vines with Jayden to help put together our tent. Instead I was here, perched on a small hill and watching Wells strip down and bury the bodies of the two kids who had unwisely decided to unclip their safety harnesses early, while the scent of death crowded my senses and sent chills down my spine. Regular people already had a fear of death, but the animal in me feared and hated it even more.

This whole situation was uncomfortable, awkwardly silent, and putting me further on edge than I already was.

I bit my lip, my eyes tracking his movements.

Two years.

He'd grown taller in that time, broader as well. Seventeen going on eighteen, he was a man now and beginning to resemble his father more and more every day. So entirely different from the nine year-old little boy that had stumbled upon two pale children hidden away in the back corner of a library they shouldn't have even been inside in the first place.

…_8 years ago…_

"_Jayden!" I hissed, my eyes darting around nervously. "We shouldn't be in here!"_

_The name was still new, only a little over a year old, but it felt right. He flashed an impish grin over his shoulder back at me, his teeth glinting in the fluorescent lights of the corridor. Everything was practically silent given that most of the Ark was asleep at the moment, leaving only those on night shift duties around. We slipped from shadow to shadow, holding entirely still and silent when a guardsmen or janitor came padding down the hallway._

"_C'mon Red, live a little." He teased, tugging on my hand. "No one is going to notice us anyways, we're ghosts remember?"_

_I frowned._

_He did have a point._

_Jayden grinned triumphantly and easily swung himself up onto a steel support beam, leaning back down to grasp my hand and yank me up even though I could've copied his movements just the same. We balanced on the balls of our feet, hurrying along past the security measures without detection by crossing over the red lasers. He led us through a maze of halls until he finally stopped at the gray double doors. He reached backward, holding out his hand palm side up where I lightly deposited the key card we had swiped earlier in the day. We dropped down from the beam without a sound, landing silently on the shiny flooring down below, and with one quick swipe the red light above the doors changed to a bright green._

_And we were in._

_My lips parted with a gasp as the doors slid quietly shut behind us, my eyes locked on the room we'd snuck into. _

_Shelf after shelf lay in front of us, filled to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes. They weren't just any books though, no these were the books that had been kept, salvaged and rescued before the war had riddled the Earth, leaving it damaged and inhabitable. They were in all kinds of languages, showing scenes from all over the world, histories of countries cataloged and usually kept locked up from the public of the Ark._

_Waiting for our viewing pleasure._

_The new doctor who had been taking care of us, who we were secretly starting to trust, had been helping Marty sneak books to us from this room for months, hoping to win us over and further educate us at the same time. We had tons of information stored away now, knew languages that more than three quarters of the Ark had forgotten, and we finally managed to find a way into the treasure trove of knowledge itself. _

_Night after night..._

_There we stayed, hours on end, pouring over stacks of books._

_Until, one night, there was a sharp gasp._

_It was the dead of what the Ark considered nighttime, there wasn't supposed to be anyone awake which is why we had come in the first place. There wasn't supposed to be any chance at all that Jayden and I would get caught somewhere we weren't allowed, especially since we didn't technically exist. _

_Yet there he was._

_A boy, couldn't be more than ten (if that), gaping at us with wide, dark eyes. Short, cropped black hair and smooth mocha skin completed his appearance. Well, that and the slack jawed facial expression._

_It was the first time in a long time we'd been caught off guard._

"_W-what…what are you doing here?" He stuttered, clutching at a book._

_I narrowed my eyes, wondering the same about him as Jayden quickly rose to his feet, towering over the boy even in only his eleven year-old height. He crossed his arms, his eyes no doubt flashing as they morphed into barely open slits while he glared. The boy was younger than us, and there was no way he would have access to this library…unless he was someone important._

_Color drained from my face, leaving me much paler than my typical cream-colored complexion._

"_Who are you." Jayden snapped, advancing a step._

_The intruder stumbled back, clearly frightened._

_But kept silent._

"_I said," Jayden growled, his voice deeper than should be possible for a kid. "Who the hell are you!?"_

_Coughing, shaking, the boy opened his mouth and answered us in a timid voice,  
>confirming the fears that had left my blood cooled.<em>

"_My name is Wells…Wells Jaha."_

An exasperated sigh pulled me out of the depths of my memories.

"Are we _ever_ going to talk about this Red?"

Head snapping up and eyes widening, I was surprised to fine Wells standing right in front of me, sweat glistening on his arms and forehead as he stood over me instead of still being further down the hill and burying our shipmates. I relaxed my face, letting the emotion slip off to hide behind a mask of calm as I gazed up at him, refusing to move even though my body had tensed with the newly vulnerable position I was left in.

"What's there to talk about Wells?" I sighed, picking at the grass under my feet.

He groaned, collapsing down next to me, his knee brushing mine. "We're friends-"

I laughed, the sound bitter instead of gleeful.

"Friends don't abandon each other Wells." I snapped, clenching my fists. "I may only be an _experiment_ as your lovely Clarke suggests, but I know enough to realize that."

A choked sound left him as I began to unfurl my muscles, getting ready to rise to my feet. He lunged forward, latching on to my wrists with a harsh grip as he forced me to hold still before pulling me back down to the ground. It took everything in me with my control so unstable to keep from lashing out, beating the crap out of him in reaction to his handling of me.

Regardless of the past.

"I'm sorry, okay!" He shouted, letting go with one hand to rake it through his thick hair. "It was wrong, I shouldn't have done it, shouldn't have listened. I should have _been_ there, kept coming, or at least told you that I wasn't going to be there anymore. I screwed up, so bad, and I…I'm just so sorry…"

I stared at him.

His voice trailed off in a pleading whisper, sounding close to tears, and his eyes looked the same way. Guilt hit me like a steel wall, slamming in to me as I watched the boy who had been my only friend for so long gaze at me like he would do anything and everything if only I'd forgive him.

Jayden would hate it. He'd say it was a mistake, that we couldn't trust him.

Bellamy would probably hate it too, though why I was even considering his input on my friendships was completely confusing and unsettling. Even a little bit scary.

I still did it.

"Okay." I whispered, tangling his fingers with mine.

His breathing hitched, his eyes going wide. "O-okay?"

I nodded once, echoing my words. "Okay."

Suddenly I was airborne as he jumped to his feet and reached down, sweeping me up into a hug as he spun me around in circles, laughing quietly. His arms were strong and warm, crushing me to his chest as he settled me on my feet, refusing to let go even though we had stopped swinging. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, letting out a content sigh as he murmured how he missed me.

I missed him too.

* * *

><p>Siran stared down at the object in her hands silently, her body held unnaturally still and utterly tensed.<p>

They had come to a stop, crouching in a clearing that was riddled with misshapen bones that looked a mixture of human and primate from what she could see, and still she said nothing. She moved nothing. All she did was stare at what her fingers were wrapped around, so tightly that her knuckles had gone white.

_This…this is why we shouldn't be around people…_

She could feel three pairs of eyes on her, watching her every move as she remained clutching to her pack and staring downward. One set was in awe but not all that surprised, one was critical and wary, while the last was unbelievably thankful yet still protective. Monty was beside himself, staring in horror at the makeshift graveyard they stood in and entirely oblivious.

That left Octavia, Clarke, and…Finn.

The boy who, for all intents and purposes, she had saved.

If the arrow still cemented in her hand was anything to go by at least.

_Raises too many questions…they'll want answers now…_

She had no idea what had possessed her to do it. Maybe it was because Jasper had literally just been ran through with a giant spear after she'd actually let herself interact, jumping up and down with Octavia in celebration of making it to the mountain. Maybe it was the way they had talked the night before, sharing herbal secrets and letting him read through her references she'd been making. Maybe it was the way he almost seemed to look out for her, like he wanted to protect her, _them_ actually when she thought back to his interactions with Arianwyn the day before.

The danger had snuck up on her, Jasper paid the price.

She'd heard the arrow.

The way it sliced through the atmosphere, leaving a whooshing noise behind it that traveled slower than the projectile itself. Her sharp eyes had turned then, catching the shadows in the trees and the glint of the sunlight on the slim bolt of wood.

Something snapped inside her.

Without thinking, she'd leapt sideways towards Finn…and snatched the arrow right out of the air.

Stopping it mere inches in front of his chest.

_Jayden's going to kill me…_

Briefly, she wondered if either he or Arianwyn could feel her worry, her panic from over the distance that separated them. Octavia and Finn were helping Monty up now, but Clarke's heavy gaze still hadn't left where it had been boring into Siran's back. She was just about to open her mouth and snap at the blonde teenager when a hoarse, pleading, agonizing scream echoed through the trees. It sent them back toward the riverbed, the arrow still biting into her palm, only to find their wounded companion gone.

"Jasper…" Clarke murmured. "He's alive."

Siran clenched her teeth, worried for the boy and the company he was in. "And they've got him."

* * *

><p>Being back in camp was <em>not<em> conducive to keeping me calmed.

I'd followed Wells after he'd gathered the supplies he'd collected from the bodies only to nearly be trampled by a group of fifteen and sixteen year old boys playing some kind of game that required they chase each other. If my reflexes hadn't kicked in, I would've ended up face down in mud. A nearly feral hiss had escaped my lips as I whipped around toward the offender, probably scaring the living hell out of him.

Now my newly reacquired friend found himself in yet another confrontation.

My words had fallen on deaf ears when I told him the plan for the extra clothes he'd taken wouldn't go over well. He wanted to set up a sort of supply storage, something to collect with and work off of so that everyone could have access to them. The idea was good actually, and it made sense, but the problem was that it was _him_ doing the suggesting.

I'd seen them last night, the mob mentality that Bellamy had created.

This wasn't going to go over the way he was hoping.

When the boy who, despite being younger than me was taller than myself, reached out into Wells' personal space, my entire body tensed. Heart rate picking up, breathing quickening; my eyes focused all around as I took in extra possible threats and escape routes to keep Wells from harm. I was weaponless, having set out to follow him that morning in the shorts and long sleeve shirt I'd slept in.

And I was now cursing myself for it.

"We share based on need!" Wells snapped, wrenching the clothes from him and keeping me behind him at the same time. "Just like back home."

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head. "Wells-"

"You still don't get it, do you Chancellor?"

_Son of a bitch…_

But when I looked up at the sound of that voice, I was entirely unprepared for the sight that was waiting for me.

All I could see was Bellamy's skin.

He was shirtless, left only in a pair of black cargo pants that hung dangerously low on his body, leaving most of his abdomen and a fair amount of hip bare for the eye to see. His skin was tanned evenly, the faint heat of early noon leaving behind a sheen of sweat that glinted in the sunlight. He was unmarked, save a few freckles spattered here and there that my sensitive eyes could pick out, and his dark hair was mussed up, contrasting nicely with his skin tone. Unconsciously, I licked my lips, fighting with myself to keep my thoughts in line and away from remembering what it felt like to have that hard, powerful, muscular body pressed firmly against mine. I felt the heat of his gaze and my eyes trailed back up his body (_not_ missing the firearm that he'd tucked into his waistband), until they were finally connecting with his smoldering eyes and a sinful smirk.

The boy was utterly _delicious_.

And…not alone.

It was obvious what they'd been doing, far more than where he had gotten with me only hours before.

My emotions flickered dangerously.

It was like a bad signal on an electro-pad or someone cutting the lights on and off, each time representing a different emotion. Panic, irritation, battle-ready calm, unadulterated lust and need, anger with the faintest touch of betrayal, an embarrassing amount of hurt and jealousy, before it finally settled on illogical rage. It was so great, so massively consuming that I could practically feel Jayden's alarm over the distance we had separated, the part of my mind that was connected to his becoming aware of the decreasing space between us.

The haze was settling in, clouding my vision.

_She_ was touching _him_, trailing a hand over his bare skin.

_He_ was touching _her_, pressing his lips down onto her own.

And _I_ was regretting every moment spent with him in the trees the night before.

My entire body had gone completely rigid, every muscle frozen into place as I watched but couldn't seem to hear. Eyes narrowed down to slits and gleaming threateningly, hands clenched down into fists, nails biting into my skin and drawing blood, jaw grinding almost audibly; I no doubt looked like the predator I was.

Wells had tensed, his eyes shooting back and forth between me and the scene in front of us.

And when Bellamy's eyes caught mine again, the smugness in them was gone as they widened marginally. If I wasn't mistaken, there was the faintest hint of worry there.

_Good...he should be worried..._

I could rip him to pieces and not even remember doing so until it was too late.

"This what you want?" Wells growled out, reaching back and gripping at my hip, trying to keep me distracted. "Chaos?"

Bellamy's eyes narrowed at the contact shared between us, watching how Wells kept me partially behind him, his own anger coming to light. A low growl vibrated through my chest, the beast inside scoffing as he did so. Like _he_ had any right to be upset after what had just transpired right in front of my face.

"What's wrong with a little chaos?" He questioned, shrugging on the shirt he'd taken before zeroing in on me. "So that's it huh? Friends forever with the guy who _left_ you and who didn't even bother to look back?"

A snarl ripped through my throat and I took a single step forward, more than ready to snap back at him, but the sound of a frightened, feminine scream cut me off, drawing my attention elsewhere. I whipped around, already moving before either boy had time to react. The anger in my veins fueled my movements, and I sprinted over the hill, eyes searching for the trouble that I'd been unconsciously waiting for.

I found it in Murphy, restraining a girl over a smaller fire lit for the day.

Understanding was instant when I caught sight of the bio-monitoring wristband still strapped to her skin, and I frowned. Having people take them off because they wanted to was one thing, but holding a defenseless girl over the fire was quite another. It didn't take long for Bellamy and Wells both to join me, coming up on opposite sides of me before they halted.

"Bellamy!" Murphy called, his voice full of pride. "Check it out, we want the Ark to think the ground is killing us, right?

His icy blues darted up from the girl, accidentally connecting with my silvery greens.

They swept my body quickly, lingering on the strip of skin exposed between my shirt and shorts before caressing my legs. His pupils dilated, the color darkening to a stormy blue like the night before, and a sly grin pulled his lips upward.

"Figure it'll look better if we suffer- _oomph_!"

I didn't think, I moved.

The steps were quick, and given the gasps echoing around us it probably looked like I hadn't moved at all to most of the crowd. I was simply one place one moment, squished between their enemy and their leader, and the next I was by the fire, my open palms connecting squarely with Murphy's chest. He stumbled back haphazardly, thrown off balance and taken by surprise. Without even looking I gripped the girl's forearm, shoving her backward into Wells' chest and waiting arms. I paced back and forth in front of the teenager on the ground, the beast inside prowling as my vision was darkening, shadowing, hazing.

_No, no, no…just keep it in until Jay gets here…you can't lose control in front of all these people…_

Murphy smirked up at me.

I practically hissed.

"Red…" Wells' voice was wary, unsure and worried.

Stupidly, I glanced backward to make sure he wasn't being cornered by anymore of Bellamy's goons like the night before. His dark eyes met mine with concern, widening at something behind me as his mouth dropped open.

And a pair of large hands gripped my body; one at my throat, the other at my hip.

Yanking me back into a lean, hard body.

"Such a spitfire…" Murphy whispered, his lips pressed against my ear, before pouting. "You didn't even say good morning, Red."

He dipped his head then, and my body tensed where it was pressed so forcefully to his when I felt his tongue dart out, taking a swipe at my neck. Tasting me. He hummed quietly then, flexing his hands where they held purchase on me, tightening around my throat and re-bruising the healed skin of my hip. Bellamy was stiff where he stood after lurching forward, his knuckles white as he stared at us, his angry eyes locked with mine.

I kept his gaze, practically snarling when I replied. "Good _fucking_ morning."

"Let her GO!"

Wells' shout was punctuated with the sound of air rushing from lungs and me taking a gasping breath as the restraining hands of Murphy were ripped away from me, while he was thrown to the ground by Wells himself. A warm arm wrapped around my waist, tucking me in to his side as he spun around to Bellamy, waving his free arm in irritation.

"You can stop this!" He implored, acknowledging Bellamy's leadership.

The boy in question glanced from him to me, eyes raking over my body almost like he was searching for any injuries, and they narrowed on my neck before he stepped closer. His body was tense but a smirk graced his lips, a misleading distraction as he chuckled.

"Stop this? Oh, I'm just getting started."

Once again, weight suddenly slammed into me, this time sending me forward as Murphy's fist connected with the unprotected side of Wells' face. I was caught off guard again, the dual task of keeping myself in control and keeping alert with my senses beginning to take its toll. Warm, large hands grabbed at my hip and elbow as I lurched forward to stay on my feet, pulling me into a broad chest that I knew quite well despite the little time we'd been on the ground.

_Bellamy._

He spun me around, my back connecting solidly with his front as he leaned in to me, filling the gaps. I froze momentarily, heat flooding my body and pooling in the pit of my stomach before the anger from earlier that morning rushed back, leaving me struggling in his grasp. It was no use really, he had adopted the same hold from before, one arm banded across my ribs right beneath my breasts while the other span over my hips, anchoring them to his own.

Only this time, his thumb slipped up under my shirt.

Warm skin against mine.

Rubbing slowly, softly, keeping up a pattern of soothing circles as he pulled me against him harder and harder. The contact made it hard to think, hard to remain pissed off with him, hard to concentrate on my surroundings.

Circle, swipe up, swipe down, circle.

"Hold the fuck still!" He hissed angrily, tightening his grip on me.

Circle, swipe up, swipe down, circle.

I snarled; infuriated that he had his hands all over me, that Murphy had managed to trap me in a vulnerable position, that Wells was now locked in a fist fight with the same boy where he was being thrown to the ground, and that I hadn't taken Jayden's advice the night before.

_Especially_ when the fresh scent of Murphy's blood hit the air, reigniting the bloodlust from the night before.

My head snapped up, eyes pinning the blue-eyed teenager where he lay on the ground, his head lolling back after Wells managed to land a few solid hits. His lip was bleeding, and the split on his cheek from his altercation with me had reopened, oozing bright red blood down his jaw. The coppery smell was potent, wafting across the ten or fifteen feet that separated us.

I was losing control, the animal inside of me breaking free and rising to the forefront.

The green of my eyes glittered dangerously, teetering on the verge of flashing a different color altogether.

My mouth felt full, the four tips of my canines no doubt sharpened.

Oxygen left my lungs quickly, in and out, almost panting.

Bellamy's hands tightened down on me further, almost painfully now as he began cussing underneath his breath, clutching me to him in an effort to keep me from breaking from him.

Wells was coming closer, talking to Bellamy, but his voice sounded so distant, far away.

Bright blue eyes connected with mine, taking in the way I strained in Bellamy's hold to get to him, the way my body was reacting to the situation at hand. A lazy smirk stretched across his face, making the blood run from his lip over his chin, trailing down his neck.

Red against pale skin.

Murphy's tongue ran out, taking a swipe at it, and his smirk grew when I hissed.

_He's toying with you…taunting you…he knows Ari, he knows…_

I stiffened, my thoughts shocking me out of the red haze that had clouded all judgment, all concentration, all thought processes. My brain was scrambling, trying to figure out how I hadn't seen this, how I hadn't known he was baiting me. I watched him roll up from the ground, his hand disappearing to his hip before something silver glinted in the sun.

_No…_

"You're dead." Murphy muttered, lunging forward.

"WELLS!" I shrieked, pulling forward.

Bellamy stumbled, Wells spun around, and Murphy attacked.

* * *

><p>He watched.<p>

That's what he had been doing lately, a lot more than he probably should. It was becoming noticeable, his little side trips to the sealed room off to the side of the main lab, the room where three separate data tiles were held.

Just watching.

The tiles belonging to the 'ghosts' were much larger than those of the regular Skybox prisoners, with details that the other one hundred didn't have, and in place of a name there was the title of a fairytale. He wrinkled his nose in irritation at that, still remembering the day the late doctor had named them thus. He'd heard Dr. Griffin allowed them new names when she took over years ago, that they had picked their own, but only those close to them even knew them.

That certainly didn't include _him_.

The children had been on the ground a little over twenty-four hours now, and already tiles were blacking out, going blank and blinking, signifying that the signal had been terminated.

_They were dead._

But these three still glowed.

Cataloging heart rate, pulse and breathing rates, oxygenation levels, hormone and adrenaline levels. It was mapping brain functions, following along the synapses and monitoring when specialty levels of the brain, awakened by procedure after procedure, were being used.

And all throughout the hours he stood there, continuously watching without a word, he prayed that they stayed that way.

He tried to convince himself it was because of the scientific knowledge they provided the Ark, because of the amounts of rations and time that had already been used on them, to insure their survival. He tried to tell himself that it had _nothing_ at all to do with actually wanting them to make it, to live, to be there so that maybe he could finally see them up close, _nothing at all_. But the slight ache in his chest betrayed him, killing his cold and heartless reasoning as he remained still, praying that the tiles in front of him continued to glow on.

It was the only connection to them he had.

And as they spiked, signifying some sort of situation that required fight or flight, his heart seemed to stutter in his chest a bit. He stared into the still pictures of unnerving eyes, watching their levels fluctuate with only one thought on his mind.

"Just stay alive…"

* * *

><p><span><strong>*Review Responses!*<strong>

_-xXRoweenaJAugustineXx:_ Good guess, but nope! Not vampires! They have a supernatural aspect to them I suppose but it's not something that they've come by in a typical way. What they are comes to them because of science, because they've been tampered with for lack of better words. I'm really glad that you're thinking about it! It's super cool to find out that I'm writing something captivating enough that you're trying to figure it out ahead of updates! Eek! (:  
>Thank you very much for the compliments! I got a little chill rereading that scene too! And I'm glad you liked the alternate POV's! There are more here, obviously lol. Ah, the Murphy scene...yessss. There might be a few more of those, especially when Bellamy and Ari are being stubborn. But it will always be BellamyAri when it comes down to it. Just some extra hotness here and there, especially with the way the bloodlust transcends between that and regular lust (;  
>Hope you enjoy the update!<br>_-RainbowDragacornus:_ Thank you very, very much! I'll keep that in mind for sure! Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
><em>-Guest Reviewer #1:<em> Thank you for the compliment! I know, even though they have issues to work through, she'll have his back!  
><em>-LettuceBFrank:<em> EEK! Good guesses! VERY good guesses, you're definitely on to something! No worries, the wait is almost up for you. After this update with the displays both girls put on, a bit of an explanation is needed! Get ready (;  
>-<em>Guest Reviewer #2:<em> Ah, I'm glad you do! Thank you and keep reading!  
><em>-Superfaraway:<em> Why thank you! It was just an idea that I played around with one day and doodled about and then BAM!, there was an outline hahaha! As for the girl on the coverart, I wish I knew! I stumbled across the beautiful work of art one day and remembered it because I thought it was a great photo, and then decided she was perfect for the part. So, props to the girl and the photographer!  
><em>-Rockergirl6:<em> Well here ya go! (:  
><em>-Melissawtf:<em> I'm happy you like it! I know, I have moments of Clarke love for sure, but there are just some times...lol. Red is definitely one to open her mouth and speak her opinion so hopefully you'll continue to enjoy!  
><em>-Sandymorganlopez:<em> Why thank you, they love you too (;  
>Yes, the grounders and Red are going to have a very interesting meeting, I can guarantee that. I've got something special planned that hopefully will be a big surprise for all you awesome readers! I'm a lover of AriBellamy too! I need to think of shipping names lol! I haven't thought hard on a pairing for Jayden yet, like picked someone for sure, but he definitely will have someone. Your suggestions are awesome!  
><em>-xXbriannaXx:<em> AHH! Your review made me laugh and smile so freakin much! Thank you! (:  
>Yes! Bellamy and Ari are delicous. And I have to admit, I'm enjoying her moments with Murphy too lol. I know, her and Jayden are very close and that'll continue. Her darker, more animalistic sides are definitely going to be making more appearances now, especially with things in the camp heating up so you'll get your wish! And not to worry, she and Clarke will still go head to head many times before they reach some common ground!<br>I love that you're suggesting music! I was thinking of putting a playlist together so any that you think of, feel free to let me know about them! I'm definitely interested! Octavia and Red's past will definitely be explored, and that's an interesting backstory. Well...all their backstory is pretty interesting if I do say so myself (;  
>Yes! I'm trying to keep as much of the Mary-Sueness down as I can, though I'm sure some will come through. And I'm glad you like the aspect I'm adding to it! I hope the way I'm doing it is believable and will continue to be. Keep the feedback coming, and enjoy! (:<br>_-Me2yo:_ Hahaha, thank you! I hope you enjoyed!  
>And still have the chance to get your homework done lol! (:<p> 


	8. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note:** New chapter is finally here, woo hoo! I hope you guys enjoy! Responses to reviews at the bottom like usual if you want to check it out, and I'm also putting a little prompt/questionnaire about Red and her companions there as well, so seriously...check it out lol. Really considering doing a Pinterest page for this story since Polyvore and I tend to argue quite a lot. Thank you bunches for all favoriters, followers, and reviewers both new and old! The support is awesome! Now, onto reading! There's almost 7,000 words here. Confrontations, drama, and Bellamy getting his hands on Red galore! (;

Feel free to follow, favorite, review, and what not! But please keep all flames to yourselves, tempers run high in the camp (:

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The 100, its characters, or any recognizable/trademarked/copyrighted materials. I only own my OC's and personal plot bunnies/ideas!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>_

* * *

><p>…<em>11 Years Previously…<em>

_He frowned as he peered through the thick glass, eyes locked on what lay behind it._

_It had been a few months since the last time he had watched them through this very window and even though the room's pristine whiteness was once again shining in effect, a shudder rippled down his spine. In his mind's eye he could still see the redness, watch as it pooled across the floor and dripped slowly down the walls. It didn't matter that it was no longer visible to the naked eye, if you asked him he would swear he could see the faint reddish outlines where blood had been spilt. _

_There were no garish red shadows today though._

_Today, the objects of his intrigue for the past eight years lay on two white cots, less than a foot of space between them, with their hands clasped together tightly. Instead of looking like he had last seen them, or even looking the way they had as they defended themselves and ripped their opponents apart…_

_They looked sick._

_Very sick._

_Weight had been lost, their skin and muscle sinking in to display the sharp angles and outlines of bone underneath. Their typically ivory and cream colored skin had turned sallow; their vibrant eyes dull and bloodshot even in the brightness offered by the fluorescent lights above. Breathing labored and shaky, they coughed regularly through dry throats, the sound like sandpaper grating against their vocal chords. Their free hands clenched intermittently, as if their muscles were continuously experiencing spasms and cramps  
>they could not control. <em>

_It looked like death._

_They seemed to be dying, wasting away right in front of him._

_And his heart clenched at the sight painfully, an annoying sensation that he would rather not attempt to explain._

"_What is this?" He snapped, irritation leaking through his tone. "I thought you had everything taken care of! You said the medicine would not-"_

"_It is not the cocktail, I assure you." _

_The cold, monotone voice of his lead scientist continued to grind against his nerves, just as it did every other day. Only today seemed worse, given the state of the project in front of them and his inexplicable illusion of attachment to them. He was angry, frustrated, and the man's nonchalance did nothing to aid those feelings. _

"_Your cocktail is the only thing that has been newly introduced into their systems since they completed their changes. What else in God's name could it possibly be?"_

_Cold gray eyes turned toward him, glancing back and forth between the subjects lying behind the glass and himself. It looked as if he were contemplating, as if he were deciding to voice a thought aloud that, while it may seem ridiculous, could possibly be the answer to the problems that lay before them. _

_He tapped his foot on the floor, arms crossed tightly over his chest._

_Impatient. _

"_It is not what has been introduced to them, I wager…" The smaller man hummed, turning his eyes back toward the glass. "But what has been taken away."_

_His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not understanding what the man meant._

_What had been taken away from them recently? _

_After the episode he witnessed, the team had come up with a chemical cocktail made of multiple medicines and even herbs in only a few weeks. In that time, the two beings locked away in the room he looked in now had been carefully contained, treated with caution and gentleness so as to not evoke their rage and suffer the consequences of such. Still, there were mishaps. Casualties of service, those who would no longer see the light of day. _

_The list of three names still lay in the bottom drawer of his desk, the lightweight page stained from the glass of alcohol he had knocked over onto it when his hands had embarrassingly begun shaking. _

_It made five._

_Five human beings who met a terrible, bloody end._

_A young woman would have been number six, if not for the syringe she had hidden up her sleeve when she provoked them. Their features had morphed; eyes flashing an eerie golden color, teeth sharpened and bared aggressively, threatening growls and hisses escaping them as they circled their prey carefully._

_They had pounced, and she had shrieked._

_But she managed to plunge the needle through skin and muscle, pressing down on one end to administer the contents and gasping in relief when the effects were instantaneous. Muscles relaxed, features eased and changed, and instead of two monsters she was faced once more with eight year-old children that no one even knew about. The cocktail was a success, and used regularly should anything fly out of control. _

_He had watched it all._

_So what could that possibly mean, something taken away?_

"_Blood."_

_His head whipped around, neck nearly cracking with the force. Wide eyes stared back into the impassive gray gaze of the man in front of him incredulously._

"_What do you mean?!" He shouted, arms flailing wildly. "You mean that they-"_

"_Need the blood, yes."_

_He gaped._

_The doctor sighed._

"_When they took down those workers, it wasn't just a typical killing. I was curious and explored the possibilities given the genetic target used…they were hunting. Their methods were not those used of mortal means, they were primal, instinctual. Teeth and hands were their weapons of choice, not objects."_

_Silence echoed around the two men._

"_You are suggesting…"_

"_That they need the blood to survive."_

_His body nearly collapsed with the man's revelation, and he stumbled to a seat before raking his hands first over his face and then into his hair. The idea was preposterous; of course the procedure had changed them when they introduced new genes to their DNA, but to have such a long lasting effect? He had been assured that with science, they would only reap the benefits of such a thing, not the urges and consequences. Now they lay there, able to see and hear better than any being on the Ark, but at the cost of animalistic rage and a need for blood?_

_It sounded as if a story, a made up legend or tale from years and years ago._

"_I do not believe it is much that they require, certainly not large amounts. You saw the damage done to those they killed, it was not as if their life's blood had been drained." The gray-eyed man sighed again, looking almost fatigued. "The amount ingested could have simply been obtained through spatter and biting. We will not know until we test the theory…but I believe it to be correct."_

_After all, it was the only thing missing._

* * *

><p>"WAIT!"<p>

His bellow cut through the air, the deep voice commanding, silencing the jeering calls for the fight and stilling the movements of the two teenagers in front of him. It did not however, still the movements of the girl he kept gripped in his arms, her back pressed to his front. They expected him to call it quits, to settle the dispute amongst the boy who had quickly become a right-hand man (_though he trusted him about as much as he trusted the Ark_) and the Chancellor's son. They expected him to pull rank, to force them apart and the crowd to disperse.

But he did not.

And now, after throwing down the spare knife at Jaha's feet despite the struggling female in his arms and the inhuman sounds spilling from her throat, telling them it was a fair fight, and taking a step back to observe…he _wished_ he had.

Holding on to her had been fairly easy before, he had just clamped her to his body and she had stilled for the most part, struggling every once in a while. It was almost as if his presence calmed her in some way.

He wasn't complaining.

Ever since the night before, when he'd lunged for her without thought, pressed her back into the trunk of that tree he'd cornered her against roughly and sealed his lips over hers; he'd been itching to touch her. It was like some sort of burning need, the desire to feel her against him. Even now, though the clothes were annoying and he preferred to feel the smooth softness of her skin, even with her fighting against him, he felt relief in touching her. His mind was constantly warring for control, flipping back and forth between what he needed to accomplish so the Ark stayed away and the heated, dirty images that flashed across the back of his eyelids.

How it would feel to have his thigh pushed between hers again, grinding up into her.

How she would taste on his lips, that sweetness he'd barely had time to sample in the less than gentle kiss they'd shared.

How she would look underneath him, her long hair tangled in his fingers while he forced her head back to bare her throat to his lips, teeth and tongue. Those tight clothes that clung to every angle and curve shredded on the ground, leaving her vulnerable for the taking.

How it would sound, his name from her lips laced in breathy pants and needy, pleading moans.

Bellamy shook his head violently, desperately trying to push away the thoughts and the reaction they would cause as the girl in question nearly ripped herself from his hold. He frowned in realization that it was harder now to keep her back, that she had way too much strength for a girl her size…

And that she had totally lost it.

So yes, he _may_ have wished he had stopped the fight instead of aiding it.

Something that sounded like the snarls of animals they had studied in classes, from back before the Earth was ravaged, escaped her throat and vibrated through her chest.

She fought him violently, her nails digging into his skin painfully as she tried to force herself away from him. Even with how tightly his hands were on her, a grip that was probably uncomfortably tight, she struggled with him and began to slip through his hold.

He caught a glimpse of her face from where he stood taller than her, and panic rushed through his body.

It couldn't be possible, but he swore he saw where her jaw seemed to have dropped some, making way for the flash of sharpened, lengthened teeth he was trying to tell himself he didn't really see. There was _no_ way she had those, and there was _no_ way that her eyes were changing, flashing between that striking combination of green and silver to an almost pulsating yellow-gold.

No way.

There was no way that she looked like she was going to kill someone.

No way.

"_Stop!"_ He snapped, letting out a low growl of his own. "Stop it Red, hold still!"

He grappled for control of her, ignoring the flash of pain that came with her nails raking down his arm, and hauled her backwards with enough strength that her feet left the ground, forcing her further into his chest as he did so. Prisoners let out worried sounds, their attentions being diverted from the fight between Murphy and Wells to the sight that was Bellamy trying to contain one of these 'Ghost' people.

And not fairing too well…

He began to worry now, noticing she was breaking free. He worried for who she was after, whoever got in her way, and herself. If she did something, he wasn't going to be able to protect her. Gritting his teeth, Bellamy growled under his breath. When the _hell_ had he decided he was going to protect this girl? She'd been nothing but trouble since she'd appeared, just as he thought, getting in his way and protecting some kid who'd obviously hurt her. Distracting him, making him lose focus, making him _want_ her so damn…

"Arianwyn!"

Bellamy's head snapped to the left, recognizing the voice even as he didn't recognize the name it shouted. The male of their group came into view (_her brother, Jayden_, he reminded himself) jumping right out of a tree and into the clearing as he sprinted toward them.

She was entirely oblivious, lost to whatever was happening to her.

Bellamy was losing his grip…she was almost free.

Then a needle was plunging into her neck out of fucking nowhere before his eyes, the hand wrapped around it belonging to her shaking and clearly infuriated brother.

And she collapsed right into both their arms.

* * *

><p>Everything was fuzzy.<p>

I blinked slowly, looking up and smiling lazily when my eyes connected with the deep chocolate brown eyes looking down at me, a mixture of concern and wariness reflecting there. His brownish black hair was ruffled, falling in messy waves, and I kept staring at the freckles that dusted over his nose and cheeks, pushing away the urge to trace them with my fingers. It was then that I noticed I was pressed tightly into him while another's heat radiated into my back _and_ that my forehead rested perfectly underneath his chin if I buried my face in his neck, like I apparently just had been. Embarrassment coursed through my veins but I couldn't do anything about it, the fuzziness wouldn't let me.

It was so nice.

Somewhere in my mind I knew I was angry at him, for more than one reason, but I couldn't seem to remember why exactly…because everything was _just so nice_.

With that very thought in mind, I froze.

There was only one thing that I knew of that made me feel like this, a fuzzy warmness that hazed over my mind and left me calm, mellow, and constantly thinking how nice everything was. I stiffened in Bellamy's hold, my eyes darting sharply over my shoulder to find two things.

Clarke was back, her voice grating in my ears as she reprimanded Wells.

And Jayden stood there, his darkened eyes narrowed and his arms crossed tightly over his chest, a used syringe clasped securely in his palm.

"Oh…shit."

Jaw clenching, he stepped closer to me and Bellamy's hands on my hip and shoulder tightened slightly before relaxing their grip gently.

"Yeah Ari, oh shit." He growled out lowly. "Mind telling me why I just had to empty a full dose in you when you promised all you needed was to sleep it off?"

I opened my mouth to respond but the memories came flooding back, slamming into me as I whipped back around to stare; first over at Wells and Murphy who Clarke was attempting to push between and then to Bellamy, who was looking between Jayden and myself, tension rolling off of him in waves.

_The fight…the blood…the knife…he gave Wells a knife and had them keep going!...Murphy…taunting, teasing as he lapped at his own blood…_

My own blood ran cooler and cooler the more I remembered, anger at the boy standing next to me rising up as I ripped myself from his hold and glared over at him.

"Murphy pulled a knife in the fight," I snapped, eyes blazing. "This idiot called it to a stop before throwing a knife to Wells and proclaiming it a fair fucking fight!"

I stepped toward him and his arrogant smirk that had masked his face, only to have Jayden wrap his hands around my wrists and yank me back into his chest roughly. I felt him bury his nose into my hair and neck, scenting me as a low warning growl rumbled through his chest, demanding that I back off. His grip tightened painfully as he breathed deeply, letting me know he understood it was more than just anger that had provoked my loss of control.

"That's not all, is it?" He rumbled, turning me to face him.

I frowned, eyes darting away from him even as he gripped my chin and pulled my face back around, physically forcing me to look into the silvery green of his eyes.

"Ari-"

"_Let him go, Wells! What is wrong with you?!"_

We all turned at the sound of stumbling feet across dirt then, taking in the scene before us as Wells idiotically listened to Clarke's demand, and I tensed when I noticed Murphy scramble back up to lunge once again. I lurched forward but, surprisingly enough, Bellamy beat me to it as Jayden wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me out of it, the dose of suppressors still leaving my movements a little off balance. Their bodies collided with a heavy thud and Bellamy took hold of Murphy's shoulders, pushing him steadily back.

"Whoa, hey!" He grunted loudly, giving the younger boy another shove. "Enough Murphy, that's _enough_!"

I watched them warily, unsure if one wrong move would lead to the continuation of the fight, but Jayden's eyes had been tracking the group of prisoners and his arm suddenly tensed around me, a wave of fear and worry strong enough to make my knees buckle slightly washing through from him to me. I threw my head to the left, trying to find for myself what had him so on edge, and was easily able to figure it out. Six had left the camp for Mount Weather, including Siran and Octavia, but only Clarke and Finn now stood in the muddy clearing.

"Where the _fuck_ is Siran?!" Jayden snapped, dragging me toward the blonde bane of my existence.

"Where the fuck is _everyone_, actually…" I amended, narrowing my eyes.

Bellamy closed in the little circle, his fists clenched tightly.

She stumbled back into Wells, her mouth opening and closing dramatically as she stuttered while looking between us and I sucked in a breath of air, searching for the scent of both the blonde I considered a sister and the brunette I'd grown close to. Instead, there was a strong coppery scent floating on the air that mixed with the faintest hint of citrus, slowly coming closer.

"There's blood…" I murmured, ignoring how Jayden growled low in his throat and Bellamy looked sideways to me in alarm.

Fresh blood from a newly opened wound.

And it _didn't_ match either Murphy or Wells.

"Octavia!"

Bellamy shouted and darted away from us, racing back toward the ridge that both Clarke and Finn had appeared from minutes ago. I looked up to find the usually upbeat teenager leaning heavily on the two on either side of her, supporting her with arms around her shoulders and waist. Siran and another boy I hadn't met but remembered well enough were both assisting her hop and jump movements, slowly guiding her forward over the hill and down near us. They all looked worse for wear, hair and clothes soaked through with sweat while their chests heaved with the extra exertion. I frowned deeply as I stepped forward behind Jayden, rushing to get to both girls so I could help look them over.

Someone was missing.

"Are you alright?" Bellamy questioned his sister worriedly, wrenching her from Siran's hold and lifting her down the rest of the hill.

His actions were copied by Jayden who latched on to Siran's hips, despite her protests, and lifted her down the stretch of ground to stand between us. He immediately set to looking her over, scenting her neck at the same time, while I gently pulled her heavy pack from her and placed it on the ground.

"Jay…Jayden I'm…_really_, Jay you don't-" Siran huffed, trying to hold him back. "_Jayden!_"

I chuckled underneath my breath; already I was well aware that the blood I had smelt wasn't hers at all. The knowledge prompted me to turn my head, following my nose to the source of the blood which happened to be Octavia, who was desperately trying to keep Bellamy's attention away from the fact that she had managed to get hurt doing something he hadn't wanted in the first place. She looked up at me with those electric blue eyes, pleading for help, and I rolled my own eyes at her.

"I _told_ you I didn't want you to go, and did you listen?" Bellamy ranted, beginning to check her over.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, I looked around in mock curiosity. "Food?"

Bellamy stood to his full height when he overheard me and looked around as well, eyebrows furrowed as first a curious and then suspicious expression flitted over his face. He wrapped an arm around Octavia's waist and pulled her with him a few steps forward, leaving me to wink at her conspiratorially as Siran and Jayden came to stand alongside me.

"Yeah, where's the food?" Bellamy questioned, staring down at Clarke.

Silence.

It echoed in the trees, leaving me uneasy as my eyes darted from person to person that had returned, a bad feeling settling in the pit of my stomach when I was reminded that a member of their group was missing. Even the remaining prisoners had quieted themselves, no longer whispering or murmuring between each other as they crowded closer.

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather…" Finn finally answered, collapsing down on a small boulder.

"_What?!"_ Jayden and I exclaimed, both turning to Siran who stood between us.

She shifted her feet anxiously.

"What the _hell_ happened out there?!" Bellamy shouted, his free hand clenched tightly at his side.

More silence followed his demand for answers as they all looked toward Clarke, waiting for her to explain. I could feel Siran nearly vibrating with her nerves, no doubt holding back things she wanted to tell us without speaking up in front of everyone.

"_Well?!"_ I snapped, glaring at Clarke.

Her nervous expression left as she narrowed her eyes at me. "We were attacked."

I sucked in a sharp breath, ignoring Wells' exclamation as he grabbed her by the shoulders and began to search for injuries. Instead, my eyes went to those that matched mine, trading silent glances with Jayden before I looked back out into the trees cautiously.

That uneasy feeling that had lurked on our consciousness now had a reason.

"…no, not what." Finn interrupted him, looking around at us all. "_Who_."

We all froze, eyes widening in surprise as his words sunk in, and the crowd around us began to mumble in their worries. Hysteria was creeping in amongst them, fear prompting their hearts to pound frantically and blood to race through their veins. Jayden eyed me in worry but I gave him a single shake of the head, letting him know there was no reason to worry about me. I was fully in control, and the sweat produced by their fear would've made my nose wrinkle in annoyance anyway.

"Turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark?" Finn murmured, looking up toward us. "He wasn't the last grounder."

Finn's dark eyes connected with mine, that knowing look left gleaming there.

"Changes…" I muttered, ignoring how all their eyes turned to me. "Adaptations, genetic mutations…it'd be enough to survive the radiation…"

Clarke cleared her throat, shooting an angry look my way that I dismissed as she began to speak. My eyes were focused on Finn, who slowly gave me a single nod of his head, and I found myself biting down onto my lip as I began to wonder just what all he knew. The way he acted, how he looked at us and talked to us…it was like he _knew_ more about us than he let on. Not like Murphy, who had likely figured out bits and pieces because of our altercations, but like he already knew more.

Like he'd been _told_.

"-good news, we can survive. Radiation won't kill us!" Clarke spoke loudly, trying to calm the camp.

_Way to state the obvious_…I snorted, mentally shaking my head.

"Yeah, the bad news is, the Grounders will." Finn cut her off, rubbing a hand down his face.

There was another beat of silence before Wells stopped, looking between both of them as he opened his mouth and spoke hesitantly.

"Uh…where's the kid with the goggles?"

A chill raced down my spine and I felt Jayden's eyes burning into me as I stared forward, the pair of us already knowing what was coming if the words they spoke were in fact true. I clenched my fists together, once again surveying the tree line, something that I'm sure both Siran and Jayden were doing as well. We needed to be careful, more alert now that we were in danger, and for the first time in a long time I was thankful for all that we had endured.

Our training would be a benefit the others didn't have.

And our senses would keep us safer.

Not everyone could smell, hear, and feel someone coming from a distance.

"Jasper was hit…" Clarke trailed off, her voice quieting. "They took him."

"Of _course_ they did!" I snapped, clearly agitated even as Octavia leaned against my side, pulling Bellamy closer to us to keep contact with him as well. "We're on _their_ land now, we've crossed into _their_ territory…according to them, we're trespassing and threats to the pack are put down."

Jayden hummed low in his throat, no doubt irritated with my revelation but in agreement nonetheless.

I could feel the multiple eyes of prisoners on us, evaluating my words, leaving both Jayden and Siran to press closer despite having both Octavia and Bellamy so near. Finn nodded once, also apparently in agreement, while Murphy stared across the clearing at us, his expression clouded with thought.

"Where's your wristband?!" Clarke's voice tore through the silence, nearly making me jump.

I sighed quietly as she and Wells began to converse, the blonde more than angry that he had lost the band of steel to Bellamy and his ranks. A tug at my shoulder distracted me and I glanced sideways to find Siran gazing at me, Jayden watching closely over her shoulder.

"We need to talk." She whispered, dragging me backward a bit.

Nodding, I grabbed a hold of Octavia's hand, pulling her to a boulder near Finn's as I sat her down. Behind us, both Clarke and Bellamy were battling with each other, both looking to convince the Skybox kids of different things and I dimly listened in with one ear, a dull panic sinking in when she revealed that the Ark was slowly dying.

My eyes shot to Jayden's, finding the worry and confusion there.

Part of us hated the Ark and agreed with Bellamy, more than happy to keep the distance between us and them. If they came down, they'd be looking for us, either to continue experimenting or to use us and our abilities as they had planned and against the new threat that had just been discovered. _Fighters, soldiers, warriors._

We'd run if we had to.

But the other part, the more human part that had slowly attached relationships to the few left up in space we liked…Marty, Abby, Kaleb…

We didn't want them to die.

We wanted them here, _with_ us.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the gut-wrenching feeling of sadness that accompanied those desires. There was no way to have one without the other; we couldn't get Marty and the others to Earth without the entire Ark becoming aware.

It was a lost cause.

"We need to figure out what to tell them…" Siran murmured quietly, eyes darting back to the two who were still fighting.

I frowned, glancing up at her from where I knelt by Octavia's leg, silently asking what she meant and what she was talking about. We didn't know what to choose ourselves, how could we tell them anything? But as she bit her lip, eyes cast downward in what almost seemed like shame, I began to worry that we weren't thinking of the same thing at all.

"Siran?" Jayden pushed, obviously concerned.

"I…did something." She whispered.

We froze; Jayden's hands still clenching the empty syringe and mine stilling as I began to work the leg of Octavia's pants upward. _She_ didn't seem surprised by Siran's admission, obviously in the know considering our companion was discussing the issue right in front of her.

"It wasn't something bad, per say…I just-" Siran trailed off, looking up.

"She saved my life."

Head snapping violently to the side, I glanced up to find Finn towering over my shoulder. He looked down at me, his expression entirely serious as his eyes held first mine and then Jayden's, all while Siran's cheeks flushed a dark pink, a small choked sound escaping her throat.

"The Grounders threw a spear at Jasper, but they had other weapons too. I was the next target and they shot at me. I would've been hit but Siran…" He murmured, eyes darting to hers before smiling. "She came out of nowhere, grabbed the arrow right out of the air."

She shrugged carelessly, picking at her sleeve.

"I would be dead if she hadn't." He uttered quietly, some unknown emotion hazing over his eyes before he cleared his throat. "She's right though, all the others saw it except Jasper. Even with what's going on now…"

As his voice trailed off and he raised his arm to indicate behind him, Bellamy's filtered into hearing again, making a clear case that should the Ark's people come down, it wouldn't be long before all of us were locked back up.

The privileged aside of course.

"_-wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners, anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say, you're not criminals! You're fighters, and survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!"_

Cheering met his last declaration, the shout now accompanied by yelling and chanting as it pierced through the quiet forest air.

I glanced nervously at my brother, noticing the way his eyes tracked Bellamy's movements. He had a point, but few from the Skybox had decent training for such a thing. And shooting at our people, taking one away…it seemed more like war.

"Monty, Clarke…they'll remember and want answers." Finn sighed, finishing his sentence.

"Awesome." I grumbled, quietly apologizing to Octavia as she winced. "Add that to my slip up earlier…what the _hell_ are we going to say?"

"Slip up?" Siran question, arching a single brow.

Jayden sighed heavily, dumping the contents of his hand into her palm. "Suppressors, one full dose down."

"Shit."

**~.~.~**

"Ugh ow...ow. _Ow!"_ She hissed, glaring at me. "Goddammit Ari, OW!"

I chuckled quietly, ignoring her protests as Octavia squirmed in both Jayden and Bellamy's holds. Her leg was bare once I'd rolled the pant leg up toward her hip, leaving her bloodied skin and what looked to be multiple bite marks exposed.

"When a patient says _'ow'_, you're supposed to be gentle!" She snapped, though her lips quirked upward.

I snorted quietly. "When the patient is a whiny brat…"

"Your bedside manner sucks."

Laughter rumbled out of Jayden's chest, and he wasn't the only one. Soon after the exchange of speeches Octavia, Siran, Jayden and I had been surrounded while Finn left for the dropship; Bellamy leaning over my shoulder to watch what I was doing to his sister while three of his boys circled around us and watched the thinning crowd. They joined in on Jayden's amusement, cutting their eyes toward us now and then.

"What the hell was it?" Bellamy asked, still leaning on Octavia's shoulder to keep her still.

I frowned, slowly wiping the blood both dried and new away so that I could see better while Siran stood off to the side, grinding up some sort of paste to help with sealing and protecting the wound from the plants she had gathered on their trip. At least _that_ part hadn't been a bust. Octavia was left gripping onto Bellamy's leg and Jayden's arm, her teeth gritted together against the stinging pain as I worked.

"I don't know!" She panted, leaning back into them. "The others said it looked like a giant snake!"

"Makes sense," I muttered under my breath.

"What does?" Bellamy asked, eyes locked on me now.

_Not quiet enough, dammit._

"These are definitely bite marks," I sighed, wiping away a few new trails of blood. "I can see where they could be reptilian."

His eyes were doing that thing again, burning into me as he stared so hard I almost wanted to fidget under his gaze. "Why?"

Rolling my eyes and ignoring Jayden's look of caution, I pointed to the now clear wound. "These are two puncture wounds, like fangs see? Then there are the entire rows of teeth, four on top here and two on bottom here. They're deep too, like a snake's would be."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and I noticed that Murphy and the boys around us had arched their eyebrows in surprise. I sent the blue-eyed brunette a smirking glare and, with the sound of Bellamy clearing his throat, he turned back around once more. Jayden frowned, his eyes moving from me to Murphy, then to Bellamy and me, before repeating the pattern, clearly over thinking the reactions.

"How do you know all this?" Bellamy muttered, eyes trained on me again.

I sucked in a breath, unsure-

"We read." Siran butted in, resting on her knees beside me and in front of Octavia. "Got a lot of time on our hands, what with not existing and all."

Silence.

Jayden let out a quiet snort, Octavia and I exchanged smirks.

"There doesn't seem to be any venom, despite the fangs," I breathed in relief as Siran began to dress the wound. "You're lucky Little O…"

She squeezed my hand as I looked up at her, a mixture of disapproval for going in the first place and pride for dealing so well with the circumstances warring on my features. Bellamy watched us, surprise registering in his gaze before he agreed.

"She's right." He fretted, checking over her once more. "You could've been _killed_ Octavia-"

"And she would've been, if Jasper didn't jump in to pull her out."

Clarke's superior tone infiltrated my ears as she pushed her way into our circle, Wells following along behind her, before she stopped a few feet behind where Siran and I knelt, eyes narrowed angrily at the younger blonde who continued to work.

A hiss of warning escaped my lips, either because I was still on edge or because Clarke Griffin just pissed me off _that_ much.

_Judgmental, arrogant, blonde bit-_

Jayden's long fingers sifted through my hair until he reached the back of my neck, where he squeezed gently in silent warning to not get carried away. He wasn't the only one who had moved when the sound was taken notice of. Octavia was stroking my fingers that were pressing the cloth to her leg, Bellamy had inched closer like he was ready to grab me again, Wells looked between the two of us warily, and Murphy had turned to oversee it all.

"You guys leaving?" Octavia blurted out, trying to ease tension. "I'm coming too."

Bellamy instantly stood, shaking his head as he and Jayden held her in place. "Whoa, no. No, no, no. _Not_ again-"

"He's right O," I stressed the words, already seeing her defiance. "No way are you going back out there. You're _still_ bleeding for Christ sake!"

Siran nodded, cinching the tie around her wound and ignoring her gasp of surprise. "They're _both_ right, this leg will only slow anyone that goes searching down."

"Wait, searching?" Jayden reiterated, obviously confused.

"For Jasper!" Octavia answered, still trying to stand. "I want to go!"

Siran shook her head, still securing the covering to the holes in her leg. "You can't, and I'm not sure it would be such a good idea anyway, all things considering-"

"Look, I'm not here to listen to you argue." Clarke snapped, hands on her hips. "I'm here for you."

Jayden chuckled when her eyes landed on Bellamy, the boy himself quick to do the same, and I arched a single eyebrow at the demanding attitude she displayed. Rolling my eyes, I unfurled my muscles from my cramped position as I stood, muffling my own laughter the best that I could.

"I don't see why you're laughing, _Red_." Clarke sneered, making everyone freeze. "I'm here for _you_ too."

It took less than a second for Jayden to abandon his post by Octavia's side as the blonde rounded on me and for him to be pressing into my side, arms crossed and eyes narrowed menacingly. There was a quiet rumble vibrating through his chest, and I briefly worried about his eyes flashing before I was distracted by Bellamy coming to a stop on my other side. Wells too moved closer, a worried expression on his face, as Murphy inched toward us, completing the circle we all made.

Silent.

And staring.

"Clarke!" Wells finally hissed, nearly frantic. "What the _hell_ are you doing?! I told you-"

"I hear you have a gun." She interrupted, her eyes breaking from mine first.

My jaw was clenched, teeth grinding together, and I ignored the way Wells purposefully tried to catch my gaze, waving his arms about behind her as he shook his head. He had been following along behind her since she had gotten back after all, what did he care. I felt Bellamy move, his arm brushing my side as he stared blankly down at the blonde and lifted his shirt over his right hip, exposing the butt of the firearm.

"Good. You'll both be following me-"

"_Excuse _me?!_" _I snarled, ignoring the way Jayden took a step in front of me to block me with his shoulder while Bellamy's hand rested his palm flat on my stomach, holding me back.

_Oh, his hand is so warm…right there on my skin…a little lower and- _

_No!..._I snapped mentally, nearly shaking my head.

"And why would we do that?" Bellamy queried, his face still blank.

Clarke turned back around from where she had begun to step away, her eyebrows arched high and a smug expression fitted across her features. She gave an unappealing snort, looking between Bellamy, Jayden and I before opening her mouth in answer.

"Because, _you_ want them to follow you, and right now they're thinking only one of us is scared." She stated, her voice loud enough to carry before she lowered it and looked right at me. "And because _you_ don't want them to find out what you are."

There was a beat of silence.

And then all hell broke loose.

Shock had registered through my system before I was pushing forward, ignoring both Bellamy and Jayden as they tried to pull me back toward them, their shouts falling on deaf ears. Clarke stumbled slightly in an attempt to back away, her eyes wide and slightly fearful, ironic considering what she'd just been saying. Refusing to let her get away, my hand shot out and I snatched up the front of her shirt, yanking her forward until less than an inch of space separated our noses. Her breathing was fast, stuttering in and out of her lungs as her heart beat rapidly and both boys continued trying to force us apart with Wells now pulling at the back of Clarke. I eyed her face, my nose wrinkling as the bitter smell of fear doused her system and ruined the fresh air around us. Finally, my eyes connected with her cloudy blue ones, and I didn't hesitate to let my own flash to their alter ego, thoroughly enjoying the way she gasped and shook slightly in my hold.

"_You_," I hissed out, my voice barely above a whisper. "You don't know the first thing about what I am _or_ what I'm capable of doing. I could split you open from sternum to intestines and bathe in your blood before you even got the chance to scream."

She stared up at me slightly, eyes glassy.

And I smirked, the animal inside me sinisterly enjoying the display.

"-ed! Red!" Wells shouted, shaking Clarke in my grip.

"_Enough_ Red, enough!" Bellamy grunted, literally lifting me from my feet.

"Ari!" Jayden snapped. "Let _go_!"

My fingers untangled from her shirt collar instantly on his demand and I relaxed my body, letting it fall back into Bellamy's hold as he drug me a few feet away. My eyes had flickered back to their silvery greens, though I didn't miss the way Murphy stared from his closer position or that a few prisoners were clapping quietly at the display of defiance. I cut my eyes back to the shaky and panting form of Clarke who now stood by Wells' side, the boy looking torn over whom to side with.

"It would be best if you don't threaten me or mine, _ever_ again." I drawled, my tone almost lazy.

She gave a short, jerky nod as she backed up a little more without taking her eyes off me, and I glanced around at those with us.

Jayden was standing tall between our group and the duo of Wells and Clarke, glaring angrily at the both of them while Siran simply shook her head and gathered her supplies together, a small smile lifting her lips upward. Octavia was clearly amused, and the boys who had surrounded us joined in with her, while Murphy simply watched on silently, his gaze unnerving with the way it bore into me. I avoided Bellamy's eyes altogether, unsure of what might be lurking there and thrown off by the way he continued to find ways to put his hands on me.

Hating it even more that I thoroughly enjoyed the contact.

"Well! Now that we've cleared that up, I guess I'll go change. We've got a camp member to find!" I cheered, already disentangling myself from Bellamy's grip.

He snorted quietly.

Jayden sputtered, clearly thinking I'd refuse to go.

"We don't have time for your vanity!" Clarke snapped, already forgetting our tussle.

"You'll appreciate the wardrobe change Princess!" I called back over my shoulder, smirking. "Trust me."

* * *

><p><span><strong>*Review Responses!*<strong>

_**-**Sandymorganlopez:_ Yay, thank you! I'm always hoping that I'm doing a good job in conveying the emotions and feelings of my characters and that of the canon characters I reference and sometimes write a POV for. I'm really glad you find that entertaining and that it works that way for you! I know, originally I had considered possibly pairing Jayden and Octavia together, but I'm worried about how that would effect the Lincoln issue. His presence is kind of important with all the events that center around him, but I'll definitely think about it some more!  
><em>-Melissawtf:<em> Haha, that's awesome! Thank you so much! I just wanted to say that I'm in love with your OC Avery for 'Down The Rabbit Hole' as well! I adore her with Derek, they're so sweet together! I haven't read your others but I'm going to try because I love your writing as well. Thanks so much for reading and enjoying! (:  
><em>-xXRoweenaJAugustineXx:<em> I know! I really wanted to give Wells and Red a chance to clear the air since I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with him yet. I know what I'm leaning toward, but we shall see. Ah, her and Murphy. I'm trying to build that tension up until it becomes explosive honestly. I've got a secret for him, wink wink! Anddd Bellamy and his natural man-whoreness he falls back on, I know. Although it wasn't like they exchanged vows or anything, it still pisses Red off to find out he hooked up after locking lips with her a short time before. Add that to her animal side getting pissy and possessive? Yep, angry Red lol. And yes, go Siran moment! Lol, she's not to be forgotten (:

* * *

><p><span><strong>Story Tidbit!<br>*What do YOU know about The Ghosts?***  
><em>This is just a little snippet to cover things that have been revealed recently! Once you have all the facts, can you guess what they are or what has been done to them? Feel free to leave guesses in your reviews, or hoard the information for yourself (;<em>

-Jayden and Arianwyn(Red) are considered 'Ghosts' by those few that know of them. The Ark itself is unaware of their existence, even their birth. They're nineteen.  
>-Siran is also considered a 'Ghost' and the Ark is unaware of her existence as well, despite the fact that she did have a short childhood before being orphaned and left alone. She's seventeen.<br>-Someone (dundundunnn) has been watching/controlling the progression of the twins since their birth and that of Siran once she was recruited to the project, all from behind the scenes.  
>-'The Ghosts' know very few people and like even less. Marty Collins- their personal guardsmen since he was twenty-one, Abby Giffin- the doctorscientist that took over their well being (why?!), Kaleb- Abby's assistant in their project and second doctor/scientist  
>-The twins met Wells in a secured library when they were 11 years old and Wells was 9 years old. They continued a secret friendship until two years prior to landing on Earth, when Clarke discovered said friendship and demanded Wells discontinue it for his safety. He did so without letting the twins know of his decision, thus abandoning them and leading to their messy reunion. Despite Red forgiving him, Jayden probably will not reacquaint himself with him, and Siran was never that close with him once she became a 'Ghost'.<br>-Each has undergone extensive training in multiple subjects, including medicine and weaponry  
>-Each has advanced senses that are borderlinemostly animalistic  
>-They acquired their senses when a target gene was mutated into their DNA, leaving them with the extra benefit of enhanced abilities but the consequences of bloodlust when pushed too far AND the need to ingest a certain about of blood to live (explained more next chapter!)<br>-Jayden and Red share a bond, they can feel each other and their emotions.  
>-Red's got herself a temper when threatened or those she cares for are threatened...Bellamy and Red have the hots for each other, <em>and<em> Murphy wants a taste of that (at the moment at least)...  
>-Oh, and Siran is a badass who can grab arrows out of the air!<p>

**Guesses anyone? Happy Reading! (;**


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